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NOTICE   TO   SUBSCRIBERS. 


M",; 


ESSRS.  CLARK  have  now  the  very  great  pleasure  of  pub- 
shing  the  final  issue  of  the  Ante-Nicene  Series  : — 


The  Completion  of  Origen  against  Celsus;  and 
Early  Liturgies  ;  with  Fragments  not  hitherto  given. 

They  are  thankful  for  the  support  they  have  received  in  a  ver^" 
arduous  undertaking ;  and  they  take  this  opportunity  of  acknow- 
ledging the  great  services  of  the  Editors,  whose  learning  has 
recommended  the  Series  to  Scholars,  whilst  their  fairness  and 
impartiality  have  been  admitted  by  men  of  all  shades  of  opinion. 

Messrs.  Clark  regret  that  they  have  received  very  little 
encouragement  to  publish  the  Homilies  of  Origen  ;  but  they 
are  still  open  to  the  consideration  of  the  matter  if  sufficient  sup- 
port can  be  obtained. 

They  trust  that  the  Subscribers  to  the  Ante-Nicene  Series 
will  continue  their  subscription  to  the  Works  of  St.  Augustine, 
of  which  four  volumes  are  now  ready,  viz. : — 

The  City  of  God.     In  Two  Volumes. 
Writings   in  connection  with   the  Donatist  Contro- 
versy.    One  Volume. 
The  Anti-Pelagian  Writings  of  Augustine.    Vol.  I. 

They  are  glad  to  announce  as  in  contemplation  a  uniform  trans- 
ion  of  the  Works  of  Chrysostom. 

1 


AIS'TE-NICENE 
CHRISTIAN     LIBRARY: 


TRANSLATIONS  OF 
THE   WRITINGS  OF  THE  FATHERS 

DOWN  TO  A.D.  325. 


EDITED   BY   THE 

REV.  ALEXANDER   ROBERTS,  D.D,, 

AND 

JAMES   DONALDSON,  LL.D. 


VOL.    XXIII. 

OKIGEN  CONTEA  CELSUM. 


EDIXBUEGH: 
T.  &  T.  CLARK,  38,  GEORGE  STREET. 

MDCCCLXXII. 


PKINTED  BY  MUllRAY  AND  GinB, 
FOE 

T.   &  T.   CLAKK,  EDINBUEGH. 

I.ONHON,      ....      HAMILTON,  ADAMS,  AND  CO. 
DUBLIN,       ....       JOHN  ROBERTSON  AND  CO. 
NEW  YORK,       .       .       .       C.   SCRIBNER  AND  CO. 


THE    WRITINGS 


OF 


0  E  I  G  E  N. 


TRANSLATED   BY  THE 


REV.  FREDERICK   CROMBIE,  D.D., 

PROFESSOR  OF  BIBLICAL  CRITICISM,    ST.    MAEY'S   COLLEGE,    ST.    ANDREWS. 


VOLUME     11. 

ORIGEN  CONTRA  CELSUM, 

BOOKS    II.-VIII. 


EDINBURGH: 
T.    &    T.    CLAEK,    38,    GEORGE   STREET. 

MDCCCLXXII. 


JH£  INSTITUTE  CF  ^^FD!AWL  S7liD:£3 

10  EL?/iSLEY  PLACE 

TOROif>4TO  5,  CANADA, 

DEC  101S31 

2530 

Books  VII.  and  viii.  have  been  translated  by  the  late  W.  H.  Cairns, 
M.A.,  Rector  of  the  Dumfries  Academy,  and  the  rest  by 
Professor  Crombie. 


ANALYSIS    OF    CONTENTS. 


VOLUME   I. 
BOOK  I., 393-478 

Preface. — Origen  undertakes  this  treatise  at  the  desire  of 
Ambrose,  but  thinks  it  unnecessary,  as  the  facts  and  doctrines 
of  Christianity  form  its  best  defence — work  begun  on  one  plan 
and  carried  on  on  another. 

First  objection  of  Celsus  is,  that  Christians  enter  into  secret 
associations,  some  of  which  are  illegal, — his  object  being  to  discredit 
the  "love-feasts"  of  the  Christians:  Answer  of  Origen — chap.  i. 
Second  objection  of  Celsus,  that  Judaism,  on  which  Christianity 
depends,  had  a  barbarous  origin  :  Answer — chap.  ii.  Celsus  objects 
that  Christians  practise  their  doctrines  in  secret  to  avoid  the  penalty 
of  death  :  Answer — chap.  iii.  Morality  of  Cliristianity  neither  vene- 
rable nor  new  :  Answer — chap.  iv.  Celsus  approves  of  the  views  of 
Christians  respecting  idolatry,  but  asserts  that  these  views  are  prior 
to  Christianity:  Answer— chap.  v.^Asserts  that  the  miracles  of  Chris- 
tianity were  performed  by  means  of  the  invocation  of  demons :  Answer 
— chap.  vi.S  That  Christianity  is  a  secret  system  of  belief  :  Answer 
— chap.  vii.  Maintains  that  a  man  should  die  for  his  belief ;  inconsis- 
tency of  this  ■svith  his  profession  as  an  Epiciu-ean — chap.  viii.  Main- 
tains that  reason  ought  to  be  the  guide  of  men  in  adopting  opinions, 
and  charges^hristians  with  inculcating  a  blind  belief^  Answer— 
chaps,  ix.-xi.  Boast  of  Celsus,  that  he  is  acquainted  with  all  the 
opinions  of  the  Christians,  shown  to  be  unfounded — chap.  xii.  Mis- 
representation by  Celsus  of  the  statement  in  1  Cor.  iii.  18,  19  :  Cor- 
rection and  explanation — chap.  siii.  Inconsistency  of  Celsus  in  accept- 
ing the  accounts  of  Greeks  and  barbarians  as  to  their  antiquity,  while 
rejecting  the  histories  of  the  Jews — chaps,  xiv.-xvi.  Celsus  objects 
to  giving  an  allegorical  signification  to  the  Jewish  history ;  incon- 
sistency of  this — chap.  xvii.  Challenges  a  comparison  between  the 
writings  of  Linus,  Musseus,  etc.,  and  the  laws  of  Moses:  Answer — 
chap,  xviii.  <>^elsus  holds  that  the  world  was  uncreated,  and  yet  is 
led  to  admit  that  it  is  comparatively  modern^chaps.  xix.,  xx.  Celsus 
asserts  that  Moses  borrowed  his  doctrines  from  wise  nations  and 
eloquent  men,  and  thus  obtained  the  reputation  of  divinity  :  Answer 


fi  ANALYSIS  OF  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

C — chap,  xxi.  Circumcision,  according  to  Celsus,  first  practised  by 
the  Egyptians  ^^Answe^ — chap.  xxii.  The  followers  of  Ikloses,  shep- 
herds and  herdsmen,  were  led  to  believe  in  the  unity  of  God  through 
delusion  and  vulgar  conceit :  Answer — chap,  xxiii.  Various  names 
given  to  the  one  God  by  the  followers  of  Moses,  all  evincing  their 
ignorance  of  His  nature :  Discussion  regarding  the  significance  of 
the  divine  names  in  various  languages — chaps,  xxiv^^^xy.  y  Celsus 
charges  the  Jews  with  worshipping  angels  and  practising  sorcery:^ 
Answer — chaps,  xxvi.,  xxvii.  Inconsistency  of  Celsus  in  introducing' 
a  Jew,  as  an  opponent  of  Jesus,  who  does  not  maintain  the  character 
of  a  Jew  throughout  the  discussion :  /This  Jew  represented  as 
accusing  Jesus  of  having  "invented  his  birth  from  a  virgin, "  and 
upbraidmg  Him  with  "  being  born  in  a  certain  Jewish  village  of  a 
poor  woman  of  the  country  who  gained  her  subsistence  by  spinning, 
and  who  was  turned  out  of  doors  by  her  husband,  a  carpenter  by 
trade,  because  she  was  convicted  of  adultery  ;  and  after  being 
driven  away  by  her  husband  and  wandering  about  for  a  time,  she 
disgracefully  gave  birth  to  Jesus,  an  illegitimate  child,  who,  having 
hired  himself  out  as  a  servant  in  Egypt  on  account  of  his  poverty, 
and  having  there  acquired  some  miraculous  powers,  on  which  the 
Egyptians  greatly  pride  themselves,  returned  to  his  own  comitry, 
highly  elated  on  account  of  them,  and  by  help  of  them  proclaimed 
himself  a  god  " — chap,  xxviii.  Preliminary  remarks  to  a  full  an- 
swer to  these  charges — chaps,  xxix.-xxxii.  >  Proof  that  the  birth  of 
Christ  from  a  virgin  was  predicted  by  the  prophets — chaps,  xxxiii.- 
XXXV.  Proof  that  prophets  existed  among  the  Jews — chap,  xxxvi. 
Possibility  of  the  miraculous  birth  of  Christ — chap,  xxxvii.  Answer 
to  the  assertion  tliat  Jesus  wrought  His  miracles  by  magic,  and  not 
by  divine  power — chap,  xxxviii.  /Scoffs  of  Celsus  regarding  the 
mother  of  Jesus  not  deserving  of  answer — chap,  xxxix.  \  Celsus 
charges  the  narrative  in  Matthew  regarding  the  dove  which  alighted 
upon  the  Saviour  at  His  baptism  with  being  fictitious  ;  shows  great 
want  of  method  and  order  in  the  manner  in  which  he  brings  his 
charges — chap.  xl.  Answer — chaps,  xli.-xlviii.  Celsus  sets  aside 
the  fact  that  the  coming  of  Jesus  was  predicted  by  the  Jewish 
prophets,  perhaps  because  he  was  not  acquainted  with  the  prophecies 
relating  to  Christ :  Inconsistency  of  representing  the  Jew  as  saying, 
"  My  prophet  once  declared  in  Jerusalem  that  the  Sou  of  God  will 
come  as  the  judge  of  the  righteous  and  the  punisher  of  the 
wicked  " — chaps,  xlix.,  1.  Detailed  evidence  from  prophecy  respecting 
the  birth  of  Christ — chaps,  li.-liii.  Answer  to  objection  of  Celsus 
regarding  the  sufferings  of  Christ — chaps,  liv.-lvi.  Celsus  asserts 
that  every  man,  born  according  to  the  decree  of  divine  Providence, 
is  a  son  of  God  :  Answer — chap.  Ivii.  The  Jew  of  Celsus  goes  on 
to  misrepresent  the  Gospel  account  of  the  visit  of  the  Magi,  and  of 
the  slaughter  of  the  innocents  by  Herod  :  Answer — chaps.  Iviii.-lxi. 


ANALYSIS  OF  CONTENTS.  vii 

TAOR 

Calumnies  of  Celsus  regarding  the  number  and  character  and  con- 
duct of  the  disciples  of  Jesus  :  Answer — chaps.  Ixii.-lxv.  The 
absurdity  of  the  story  of  our  Lord's  removal  when  an  infant,  is, 
according  to  Celsus,  a  proof  that  He  was  not  divine  :  Answer — chap. 
Ixvi.  Celsus  denies  that  the  works  of  Jesus  were  at  all  remarkable  as 
compared  with  those  attributed  to  Perseus  and  Amphion,  and  other 
mythological  personages,  but  admits  afterwards  that  some  of  them 
were  remarkable, — such  as  His  cures,  and  His  resurrection,  and  the 
feeding  of  the  multitude, — although  he  immediately  afterwards  com- 
pares them  to  the  tricks  of  jugglers,  and  denies  that  they  can  fur- 
nish any  proof  of  His  being  "  Son  of  God  :"  Answer — chaps.  Ixvii., 
Ixviii.  "  Objection  of  Celsus  that  the  body  of  Jesus  could  not  have 
been  that  of  a  god,  nor  could  be  nourished  with  such  food  as 
Jesus  partook  of  :  Answer — chaps.  Ixix.,  Ixx.  Declares  that  opinions 
of  Jesus  were  those  of  a  wicked  and  God-hated  sorcerer  :  Answer — 
chap.  Ixxi. 

VOLUME   11. 

BOOK  II., 1-84 

This  book  contains  Origen's  answers  to  the  charges  which  Celsus, 
in  the  person  of  a  Jew,  brings  against  the  converts  from  Judaism 
to  Christianity.  Main  charge  is,  that  "  they  have  forsaken  the  law 
of  their  fathei-s,  in  consequence  of  their  minds  being  led  captive  by 
Jesus ;  that  they  have  been  most  ridiculously  deceived ;  and  that 
they  have  become  deserters  to  another  name  and  to  another  mode  of 
life."  Answer  to  these  charges — chap.  i.  Digression  upon  certain 
declarations  of  Jesus  in  the  Gospels — chap.  ii.  Ignorance  of  Celsus 
evinced  by  the  manner  in  which  he  represents  the  Jew  as  addressing 
the  Israelitish  converts — chap.  iii.  Objection  of  Jew,  that  Chris- 
tianity takes  its  origin  from  Judaism,  and  that  after  a  certain  point 
it  discards  Judaism :  Answer — chap.  iv.  Assertion  of  Celsus,  that 
Jesus  was  punished  by  the  Jews  for  His  crimes,  already  answered — 
chap.  V.  Observance  by  Jesus  of  Jewish  usages  and  sacrificial  ob- 
servances, no  argument  against  His  recognition  as  the  Son  of  God 
— chap.  vi.  Language  of  Jesus  fiu'nishes  not  the  slightest  evi- 
dence, but  the  reverse,  of  arrogance  :  Quotations — chap.  vii.  Alle- 
gation, that  when  men  are  willing  to  be  deceived,  many  persons  like 
Jesus  would  find  a  friendly  reception  ;  inconsistency  of  this  ;  various 
other  charges  disposed  of — chap.  viii.  Assertion  of  Celsus,  that 
Jesus  could  not  be  deemed  a  god  because  he  was  currently  reported 
to  have  performed  none  of  his  promises,  and,  after  conviction  and 
sentence,  was  found  attempting  to  conceal  himself  and  endeavouring 
to  escape,  and  Avas  then  betrayed  by  his  disciples ;  impossibility  of 
such  things,  according  to  Celsus,  happening  to  a  god :  Answer  to 
these  calumnies  and  objections — chaps,  ix.-xi.     Assertion  of  Celsus, 


viii  ANALYSIS  OF  CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

that  Jesus  was  inferior  to  a  brigand  chief,  because  He  was  betrayed 
by  His  disciples :  Answer — chap.  xii.  Celsus  asserts  that  he  omits 
mention  of  many  tilings  in  the  life  of  Christ  which  he  could  state  to 
His  disadvantage  ;  challenged  to  produce  such  :  Several  predictions 
of  Jesus  quoted  and  commented  on — chap.  xiii.  Celsus  makes  light 
of  the  admission  that  future  events  were  predicted  by  Jesus  :  Ee- 
marks  of  Origen  in  answer — chap.  xiv.  Assertion  of  Celsus,  that 
the  disciples  of  Jesus  devised  the  fiction  that  He  foreknew  everything 
before  it  happened :  Answer — chap.  xv.  Asserts  that  the  disciples 
wrote  the  accounts  they  have  given  by  way  of  extenuating  the 
charges  against  Him  :  Answer — chap.  xvi.  Celsus  alleges  that  a 
prudent  man — much  more  a  god  or  spirit — would  have  tried  to 
escape  dangers  that  were  foreseen,  whereas  Jesus  did  the  reverse  : 
Answer — chap.  xvii.  Objection  of  Celsus,  that  the  announcements 
which  Jesus  made  regarding  those  disciples  who  were  to  betray  and 
deny  Him  had  not  the  effect  of  deterring  them  from  their  treason 
and  perjury,  shown  to  be  self-contradictory — chap,  xviii.  Further 
statement  of  Celsus,  that  in  such  cases  intending  criminals  abandon 
their  intentions,  shown  to  be  untrue — chap.  xix.  Objection,  that  if 
Jesus  had  been  a  God,  His  predictions  must  infallibly  have  come  to 
pass ;  and  assertion,  that  He  plotted  against  the  members  of  His  own 
table  :  Eefuted — chaps.  xx.-xxii.  Assertion,  that  the  things  which  He 
suffered  could  have  been  neither  painful  nor  distressing,  because  He 
submitted  to  them  voluntarily  and  as  a  God — chap,  xxiii.  Misre- 
presentation of  Celsus  as  to  the  language  employed  by  Jesus  during 
His  sufferings — chaps,  xxiv.,  xxv.  Celsus  charges  the  disciples  with 
having  invented  statements :  Answer — chap.  xxvi.  Alleges  that 
Christian  believers  have  corrupted  the  gospel  m  order  to  be  able  to 
reply  to  objections  :  Answer — chap,  xxvii.  The  Jew  of  Celsus  re- 
proaches Christians  with  making  use  of  the  prophets :  Answer — 
chap,  xxviii.  Assertion  of  Celsus,  that  from  such  signs  and  misin- 
terpretations, and  from  proofs  so  mean,  no  one  could  prove  Jesus  to 
,  be  God  and  the  Son  of  God  :  Answer — chap.  xxx.  Charges  Chris- 
tians with  sophistical  reasoning  in  saying  that  the  Son  of  God  is  the 
Logos  Himself  :  Refutation — chap.  xxxi.  Objection  of  Celsus  to  our 
Lord's  genealogy:  Refutation — chap,  xxxii.  ^Celsus  ridicules  the 
*  actions  of  Jesus  as  unworthy  of  a  God :  Refutation — chap,  xxxiii.  y 
Inconsistency  of  Celsus  in  representing  the  Jew  as  conversant  with 
Greek  literature ;  various  remarks  of  Celsus  answered — chap,  xxxiv. 
Question  of  Celsus,  why  Jesus  does  not  give  some  manifestation  of 
His  divinity  by  taking  vengeance  upon  those  who  insult  Him  and 
His  Father;  Answered — chap.  xxxv.(^  Celsus  scoffingly  inquires, 
What  was  the  nature  of  the  ichor  in  the  body  of  Jesus  ?^  and  asserts 
that  Jesus  rushed  with  open  mouth  to  drink  of  the  vinegar  and  gall : 
Answer — chaps,  xxxvi.,  xxxvii.  Sneer  of  the  Jew,  that  Christians 
find  fault  with  Jews  for  not  recognising  Jesus  as  God :  Answer — 


ANALYSIS  OF  CONTENTS.  ix 

PAGE 

cliap.  xxxviii.  •^J'alseLood  of  the  asscrtiou  of  this  Jew  of  Celsus,  that 
Jesus  gained  over  to  His  cause  no  one  during  His  life,  not  even  His 
own  disciples — chap.  xxxix.S  Jew  goes  on  to  assert  that  Jesus  did 
not  show  Himself  to  be  pure  from  all  evil :  Answer — chaps,  xli.,  xlii. 
Falsity  of  the  statement,  that  Jesus,  after  failing  to  gain  over  those 
who  were  in  this  world,  went  to  Hades  to  gain  over  those  who  were 
there — chap,  xliii.  Celsus  assei-ts  fm-ther,  that  other  individuals  who 
have  been  condemned  and  died  miserable  deaths  ought  to  be  re- 
garded as  greater  and  more  divine  messengers  of  heaven  than  Jesus : 
Answer — chap.  xliv.  Argument  of  Celsus  against  the  truth  of 
Christianity,  from  the  different  behaviour  of  the  actual  followers  of 
Jesus  during  His  life  and  that  of  Christians  at  the  present  day : 
Answer — chap.  xlv.  /  Falsehood  of  the  assertion,  that  Jesus  when 
on  earth  gained  over  to  HimseK  only  sailors  and  tax-gatherers  of 
the  most  worthless  character — chap,  xlvi.^  Answer  to  the  question, 
I  By  what  train  of  argument  were  Christians  led  to  regard  Jesus  as 
\  the  Son  of  God  ? — chap,  xlvii.  Assertion  of  Celsus,  that  Jesus  is 
\deemed  by  Christians  to  be  the  Son  of  God  because  He  healed  the 
lame  and  the  blind  and  is  asserted  to  have  raised  the  dead :  Answer 
— chap,  xlviii.  Statement  of  Celsus,  that  Jesus  convicted  Himself 
of  being  a  sorcerer  r^efuted  by  His  predictions  regarding  false  pro- 
phets, etc. — chaps,  xlix.,  1.  No  resemblance  between  the  works  of 
Jesus  and  those  of  a  sorcerer — chap.  li.  Inconsistency  of  the  Jew 
in  raising  the  objections  which  he  does,  seeing  that  the  same  ob- 
jections might  be  raised  against  the  divinity  of  Mosaism — chaps,  lii- 
liv.  Jew  objects  further,  that  the  predictions,  althoiigh  actually 
uttered,  prove  nothing,  because  many  have  been  deceived  by  jug- 
gling tricks ;  asserts  also,  that  there  is  no  satisfactory  evidence  of 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  the  report  of  which  can  be  explained  in 
other  ways  :  Answer — chaps.  Iv.-lxii.  Celsus  proceeds  to  bring,  as 
a  serious  charge  against  Jesus,  that  He  did  not  appear  after  His 
resurrection  to  those  who  had  ill-treated  Him  and  condemned  Him, 
and  to  men  in  general :  Answer — chaps.  Ixiii-lxvii.  Celsus  asserts, 
that  it  would  have  helped  to  manifest  His  divinity  if  He  had  at  once 
disappeared  from  the  cross :  Answer — chaps.  Ixviii.,  Ixix.  Incon- 
sistency of  Celsus'  statement  (that  Jesus  concealed  Himself)  with  the 
facts  of  the  case,  pointed  out — chap.  Ixx.  Certain  declarations  of 
Jesus  regarding  Himself,  noticed  —  chap.  Ixxi.  Celsus  asks  why, 
if  Jesus  wished  to  remain  hid,  a  voice  was  heard  from  heaven  pro- 
claiming Him  to  be  the  Son  of  God  ?  or,  if  He  did  not  seek  conceal- 
ment, why  was  He  punished  ?  or,  why  did  He  die  ?  Answer — chap. 
Ixxii.  Celsus  asserts,  that  no  witness  is  needed  to  refute  the  state- 
ments of  the  Christians,  because  these  are  taken  from  their  own 
books,  which  are  self- contradictory :  Answer — chap.  Ixxiv.  Impos- 
sibility, according  to  Celsus,  that  a  god,  who  was  expected  to  appear 
among  men,  should  be  received  with  incredulity  on  his  coming,  or 


X  ANALYSIS  OF  CONTENTS. 

PACE 

should  fail  to  be  recognised  by  those  who  have  been  looking  for 
him :  Answer — chap.  Ixxv.  All  objections  brought  by  the  Jew 
against  Christianity  might  be  retorted  on  himself :  Illustrations — 
chap.  Ixxvi.  Jew  professes  his  belief  in  a  bodily  resurrection  and 
in  eternal  life — chap.  Ixxvii.  Asks  if  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to 
produce  unbelief  in  the  minds  of  men :  Answer — chap.  Ixxviii.  Con- 
clusion of  the  Jew  is  that  everything  proves  Jesus  to  have  been  a 
man :  General  refutation. 

BOOK  III., 85-160 

Object  of  Book  Third  to  refute  the  charges  which  Celsus  makes 
against  Christianity  in  his  own  person.  Assertion  of  Celsus  that  the 
controversy  between  Jews  and  Christians  is  most  foolish  ;  that  there 
is  nothing  of  importance  in  the  investigations  of  Jews  and  Christians ; 
because,  although  both  believe  that  a  Saviour  was  predicted,  yet 
they  do  not  agree  on  the  point  whether  He  has  actually  come  or  not. 
Refutation  of  these  statements  generally — chaps,  i.-iv.  Celsus  al- 
leges that  both  Judaism  and  Christianity  originated  in  rebellion 
against  the  State ;  impossibility  of  this — chaps,  v.-vii.  Jews  shown 
from  their  language  not  to  be  Egyptians — chap.  viii.  Falsehood  of 
the  assertion  that  Christians  do  not  desire  to  convert  aU  men,  even  if 
they  could — chap.  ix.  Proof  of  Celsus  in  support  of  his  assertion  : 
Answer — chaps,  x.-xiii.  Union  of  Christians  alleged  to  rest  upon 
no  substantial  reason,  save  on  rebellion  and  fear  of  external  enemies: 
Answer — chaps,  xiv.,  xv.  Falsity  of  the  charge  that  Christians  in- 
vent terrors — chap.  xvi.  Comparison  of  the  articles  of  the  Christian 
faith  to  Egyptian  temples,  where,  after  passing  through  imposing 
avenues,  nothing  is  found  as  an  object  of  worship  save  a  cat,  or  an 
ape,  or  a  crocodile,  or  a  goat,  or  a  dog :  Refutation  of  this — chaps, 
xvii.-xxi.  Celsus  asserts  that  the  Dioscuri,  and  Hercules,  and 
iEsculapius,  and  Dionysus,  are  believed  by  the  Greeks  to  have  be- 
come gods  after  being  men  ;  but  that  we  refuse  to  recognise  them  as 
such,  although  they  manifested  many  noble  qualities,  displayed  for 
the  benefit  of  mankind  :  General  answer — chap.  xxii.  Comparison 
of  our  Lord's  character  with  that  of  individuals  referred  to — chap, 
xxiii.  Unfairness  of  Celsus  in  requiring  Christians  to  believe  the 
stories  regarding  such  beings,  and  yet  refusing  his  assent  to  the 
credibility  of  the  Gospel  narratives  regarding  Jesus — chap.  xxiv. 
Examination  of  the  case  of  J^sculapius — chaps,  xxv.,  xxvi. ;  of  Aris- 
teas  of  Proconnesus — chaps,  xxvi.-xxix.  Superiority  of  the  churches 
of  God  over  the  public  assemblies — chaps,  xxix.,  xxx.  Comparison  of 
the  cases  of  Abaris  the  Hyperborean  and  of  the  Clazoraenian  with 
Jesus — chaps,  xxxi.,  xxxii.  Examination  of  the  story  of  Cleomedes  of 
Astypalea — chap,  xxxiii.  Celsus  alleges  that  there  are  many  other 
similar  instances :  This  statement,  even  if  true,  shown  to  be  inapplic- 
able— chap,  xxxiv.     Celsus  challenged  to  say  wliether  he  believes 


ANALYSIS  OF  CONTENTS.  3ci 

PAGE 

such  beings  really  to  be  demons,  or  heroes,  or  gods  :  Consequences 
which  will  follow — chap.  xxxv.  Comparison  of  case  of  Antinous, 
the  favourite  of  Hadrian,  shown  to  be  absurd — chaps,  xxxvi.-xxxviii. 
Allegation  of  Celsus  that  faith  alone  leads  Christians  to  give  their 
assent  to  the  doctrines  of  Jesus :  Examination  of  this  statement — 
chaps,  xxxix.-xli.  Comparison  of  mortal  flesh  of  Jesus  to  gold, 
silver,  or  stone,  shown  to  be  inept — chap.  xlii.  Celsus  asserts,  that 
in  ridiculing  the  worshippers  of  Jupiter,  who  was  buried  in  Crete, 
while  worshipj)iug  Jesus,  who  rose  from  the  grave,  we  are  guilty  of 
inconsistency:  Answer  —  chap,  xliii.  Various  objections  against 
Christianity,  gathered  from  the  more  unintelligent  Christians,  ad- 
duced by  Celsus ;  enumeration  of  these  :  Answers — chaps,  xliv.,  xlv. 
Christians  do  desire  that  there  should  be  wise  men  among  them — 
chaps,  xlv.-xlviii.  Allegation  that  only  the  low,  and  the  vile,  and 
the  ignorant,  with  women  and  children,  are  desired  as  converts, 
shown  to  be  false  in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  advanced  by  Celsus — 
chaps,  xlix.-liv.  Cliarge  brought  against  teachers  of  Christianity  of 
surreptitiously  inculcating  their  doctrines  upon  children  without 
the  knowledge  of  their  parents — chap.  Iv.  Examination  of  this 
charge — chaps.  Ivi.-lviii.  Answer  to  charge  of  Celsus,  that  Chris- 
tians invite  the  wicked  alone  to  participation  in  their  sacred  rites — 
chaps,  lix.-lxii.  ^Refutation  of  the  charge  that  God  does  not  decide 
in  accordance  with  truth,  but  with  flattery — chap.  Ixiii.^  Answer 
to  question  of  Celsus,  why  sinners  are  preferred  over  others — chap. 
Ixiv.  Falsehood  of  the  assertion  that  Christians  are  able  to  gain 
over  none  but  sinners — chap.  Ixv.  ^Error  of  Celsus  in  denying  the 
possibility  of  a  complete  transformation  of  character — chap.  Ixvi.^ 
His  meaning  probably  was,  that  such  transformation  could  not  be 
effected  by  punishment ;  this  shown  to  be  false — chap.  Ixvii.  Trans- 
formation of  character,  in  certain  cases,  by  means  of  philosophical 
discom-ses,  not  a  matter  to  excite  surprise  :  character  of  Christian 
preaching — chap.  Ixviii.  Examination  of  Celsus'  statement,  that  to 
change  a  nature  entirely  is  exceedingly  difficult — chap.  Ixix.  God 
can  do  all  that  it  is  possible  for  Him  to  do  without  ceasing  to  be  God 
— chap.  Ixx.  Falsity  of  statement  that  God  alleviates  the  sufferings 
of  the  wicked  through  pity  for  their  wailings,  but  casts  off  the  good 
— chap.  Ixxi.  No  truly  wise  man  could  be  misled  by  any  statements 
of  an  unintelligent  Christian — chap.  Ixxii.  Falsity  of  statements, 
that  the  ambassador  of  Christianity  relates  only  ridiculous  things — 
chap.  Ixxiii.  That  he  seeks  after  the  unintelligent  alone — chap.  Ixxiv. 
That  he  acts  like  a  person  who  promises  to  restore  patients  to  bodily 
health,  but  who  prevents  them  from  consulting  skilled  physicians, 
who  would  expose  his  ignorance — chap.  Ixxv.  That  the  Christian 
teacher  acts  like  a  drunken  man,  who  should  enter  a  company  of 
drunkards,  and  accuse  those  who  were  sober  of  being  drunk — chap. 
Ixxvi.     That  he  is  like  one  suffering  from  ophthalmia,  who  should 


xii  ANALYSIS  OF  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

accuse  the  'clear-siglited  of  blindness.  Assertion  of  Celsus  that 
Christians  lead  on  men  by  empty  hopes :  Answer — chap.  Ixxvii. 
Character  of  those  who  become  converts — chap.  Ixxviii.  Christianity 
the  best  system  wliich  men  were  capable  of  receiving — chaps.  Ixxix- 
Ixxxi. 

BOOK  IV., 161-267 

Subject  of  Fourth  Book  mainly  to  show  that  the  prophecies  re- 
garding Christ  are  true  predictions — chap.  i.  The  position  main- 
tained by  certain  Christians,  that  there  has  already  descended  upon 
the  earth  a  certain  God,  or  Son  of  a  God,  who  will  make  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  earth  righteous,  and  by  the  Jews,  that  the  advent  of  this 
being  is  still  future,  asserted  by  Celsus  to  be  false :  Answer — chap, 
ii.  Question  of  Celsus  as  to  the  meaning  of  such  a  descent :  An- 
swered— chap.  iii.  Argument  of  Celsus  turned  against  himself — 
chap.  iv.  Celsus  misrepresents  Christians  as  saying  that  God  HimseK 
■wiU  come  down  to  men,  and  that  it  follows  that  He  has  left  His 
own  abode — chap.  v.  Celsus  represents  the  object  of  God's  descent 
to  be  a  desire  to  make  Himself  known,  and  to  make  trial  of  men  ;  and 
this,  he  alleges,  testifies  to  an  excessive  and  mortal  ambition  on  the 
part  of  God :  Answer — chaps,  vi.-ix.  Celsus  asserts,  that  Christians 
talk  of  God  in  a  way  that  is  neither  holy  nor  reverential,  and  likens 
them  to  those  who  in  the  Bacchic  mysteries  introduce  phantoms  and 
objects  of  terror:  Answer — chap.  x.  Celsus  endeavours  to  prove 
that  the  statements  in  the  Christian  records  regarding  floods  and 
conflagrations  are  neither  new  nor  wonderful,  but  may  be  paralleled 
and  explained  from  the  accounts  of  the  Greeks :  Answer — chaps,  xi.- 
xiii.  Celsus  returns  to  the  subject  of  the  descent  of  God,  alleging 
that  if  He  came  down  among  men,  He  must  have  undergone  a 
change  from  better  to  worse,  which  is  impossible  in  the  case  of  an 
immortal  being :  Answer — chaps,  xiv.-xvi.  Superiority  of  the  scrip- 
tural accounts  of  these  matters  over  those  of  the  Greek  mythology — 
chap.  xvii.  Celsus  repeats  his  objections:  Answer — chaps,  xviii., 
xtx.  Celsus'  representation  of  the  manner  in  which  the  Jews  main- 
tain that  the  advent  of  Jesus  is  still  future — chap.  xx.  Absm-dity 
of  the  statement  of  Celsus  that  the  overturning  of  the  tower  of  Babel 
had  the  same  object  as  the  Deluge,  viz.  the  purification  of  the  earth 
— chap.  xxi.  Proof  that  Jews  brought  on  themselves  the  divine 
wrath,  because  of  their  treatment  of  Jesus  —  chap.  xxii.  Celsus 
insolently  compares  Jews  and  Christians  to  bats,  and  ants,  and 
frogs,  and  worms,  etc. — chap,  xxiii.  Answer — chaps,  xxiv.,  xxv. 
Superiority  of  Christians  in  their  opinions  and  practice  to  idolaters 
— chaps,  xxvi.,  xxvii.  Celsus  misrepresents  the  language  of  Chris- 
tians as  to  God's  descent  among  men,  and  His  intercourse  with  them — 
chaps,  xxviii.,  xxix.  Celsus,  not  understanding  the  words,  "Let  us 
make  man  in  our  image  and  likeness,''  has  represented  Christians  as 


ANALYSIS  OF  CONTENTS.  xiii 

PAGK 

saying  that  they  resemble  God  because  created  by  Him :  Answer — chap.. 
XXX.     Celsiis  again  asserts  that  the  Jews  were  fugitives  from  Egypt, 
who  never  performed  anythmg  of  note,  and  were  never  held  in  any 
account:  Answer— chaps,  xxxi.,  xxxii.     Celsus,  in  very  ambiguous 
language,  asserts  that  the  Jews  endeavoured  to  derive  their  origin 
from  the  first  race  of  jugglers  and  deceivers,  and  appealed  to  the 
testimony  of  dark  and  ambiguous  words :  Answer — chaps,  xxxiii.- 
XXXV.      Celsus  adduces  instances  of  alleged  great  antiquity   put 
forth  by  other  nations,  and  asserts  that  the  Jews  wove  together 
some  most  incredible  and  stupid  stories,  regarding  the  creation  of 
man,  the  formation  of  the  woman,  the  issuing  of  certain  commands  by 
God,  the  opposition  of  the  serpent,  and  the  defeat  of  God,  who  is 
thus  shown  to  have  been  weak  at  the  very  beginning  of  things,  and 
unable  to  persuade  a  single  individual  to  obey  His  will:  Detailed 
answers  to  these  misrepresentations — chaps,  xxxvi.-xl.     Celsus  next 
ridicules  the  accounts  of  the  Deluge  and  the  Ark :  Answers — chaps, 
xli.,  xlii.     Goes  on  to  carp  at  the  histories  of  Abraham  and  Sarah,- 
of  Cain  and  Abel,  of  Esau  and  Jacob,  of  Laban  and  Jacob — chap, 
xliii.     Explanation  of  the  statement  that  "God  gave  wells  to  the 
righteous ;"  other  matters,  also,  to  be  allegorically  understood — chap, 
xliv.     Celsus  does  not  recognise  the  love  of  truth  which  characterizes 
the  writers  of  Scripture ;  figurative  signification  of  Sodom,  and  of 
Lot  and  his  daughters;  discussion  on  the  nature,  of  actions — chap, 
xlv.     Spirit  of  hostility  which  characterizes  Celsus,  in  selecting  from 
the  narratives  of  Scripture  whatever  may  serve  as  ground  of  accusa- 
tion against   Christians,    while  passing  without    notice  whatever 
may  redound  to  their  credit :  Instances — chap.  xlvi.     Celsus  refers 
vaguely  to  the  dreams  of  the  butler  and  baker  in  the  history  of 
Joseph,  and  endeavours  to  find  ground  of  objection  in  the  history 
of  Joseph's  conduct  towards  his  brethren — chap,  xlvii.     Asserts  that 
the  more  modest  among  Jews  and  Christians  endeavour  to  give 
these  things  an  allegorical  meaning,  because  they  are  ashamed  of 
them :  Answer — chap,  xlviii.     Falsity  of  his  assertion  that  the  scrip  - 
tural  writings  are  incapable  of  receiving  an  allegorical  meaning — 
chaps,  xlix.,  1.     The  treatises  which  give  allegorical  explanations  of 
the  law  of  Moses  evidently  unknown  to  Celsus,  otherwise  he  could 
not  have  said  that  these  allegorical  explanations  were  more  shame- 
ful than  the  fables  themselves :  Hlustrations — chap.  li.     Celsus  refers 
to  the  work  entitled  "  Controversy  between  Papiscus  and  Jason," 
in  support  of  his  assertions — chaps,  lii.,  liii.     Celsus  conceals  his 
real  opinions,  although  he  ought  to  have  avowed  them,  when  quot- 
ing from  the  Tbnxus  of  Plato,  to  the  effect  that  God  made  immortal 
things  alone,  while  mortal  things  are  the  work  of  others ;  that  the 
soul  is  the  work  of  God,  while  the  body  is  different;  that  there  is 
no  difference  between  the  body  of  a  man,  and  that  of  a  bat :  Exa- 
mination of  these  statements— chaps,  liv.-lis.   Asserts  that  a  common 


xiv  ANALYSIS  OF  CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

nature  pervades  all  bodies,  and  that  no  product  of  matter  is  im- 
mortal :  Answers — chaps.  Ix., Ixi.  Maintains  that  the  amount  of  evil  is 
a  fixed  quantity,  which  has  never  varied :  Answers — chaps.  lxii.-lxiv_.. 
That  it  is  difficult  for  any  but  a  philosopher  to  ascertain  the  origin 
of  evils,  but  that  it  is  sufficient  for  the  multitude  to  say  that  they 
do  not  proceed  from  God,  but  cleave  to  matter;  and  that,  as  the 
cause  of  mortal  events  never  varies,  the  same  things  must  always 
return,  according  to  the  appointed  cycles:  Answers — chaps,  liv.-lxix. 
Assertion  of  Celsus  that  a  thing  which  seems  to  be  evil  may  not 
necessarily  be  so  :  Examined — chap.  Ixx.  Celsus  misunderstands  the 
authropopathic  language  of  Scripture :  Explanation — chaps.  Ixxi.- 
Ixxiii.  Celsus  finds  fault  with  Christians  for  asserting  that  God 
made  all  things  for  the  sake  of  man,  whereas  they  were  made  as 
much  for  the  sake  of  the  irrational  animals :  Answer — chap.  Ixxiv. 
Celsus  holds  that  thunders,  and  lightnings,  and  rains  are  not  the 
■works  of  God;  that  even  if  they  were,  they  were  brought  into 
existence  as  much  for  the  sake  of  plants,  and  trees,  and  herbs,  as 
for  that  of  human  beings :  Answer — chaps.  Ixxv.j  Ixxvi,  Celsus  main- 
tains that  the  verse  of  Euripides,  viz.  "The  sun  and  night  are  to 
mortals  slaves,"  is  untrue,  as  these  luminaries  may  be  said  to  be 
created  for  the  use  of  ants  and  flies  as  much  as  of  man  :  Answer — 
chap.  Ixxvii.  Asserts  that  we  may  be  said  to  be  created  as  much 
on  account  of  irrational  animals  as  they  on  our  account :  Answer — 
chaps.  IxxviiL-lxxx.  Celsus  maintains  that  the  superiority  of  man 
over  irrational  animals  in  building  cities  and  founding  political 
communities  is  only  apparent :  Examination  of  this  assertion — chaps. 
Ixxxi.-lxxxiv.  No  great  difference,  according  to  Celsus,  between 
the  actions  of  men,  and  those  of  ants  and  bees — chap.  Ixxxv.  Cer- 
tain irrational  animals,  according  to  Celsus,  possess  the  power  of 
sorcery  ;  instances :  Examination  of  these — chaps.  Ixxxvi.,  Ixxxvii. 
Assertion  that  the  thoughts  entertained  of  God  by  irrational  animals 
are  not  inferior  to  those  of  men;  illustrations:  Answer — chaps. 
Ixxxviii.,  Lxxxix.     Degrading  views  of  Celsus — chaps,  xc.-xcix. 

BOOK  v., 268-335 

Continuation  of  the  subject — chap.  i.  Celsus  repeats  his  denial 
that  no  God,  or  son  of  God,  has  either  come,  or  will  come,  to  earth ; 
that  if  certain  angels  did  come,  by  what  name  are  they  to  be  called  ? 
whether  by  that  of  gods  or  some  other  race  of  beings?  in  all  proba- 
bility such  angels  were  demons :  llefutation — chaps,  ii.-v.  Celsus 
proceeds  to  express  surprise  that  the  Jews  should  worship  heaven 
and  angels,  and  yet  pass  by  the  heavenly  bodies,  as  the  sun  and 
moon ;  which  procedure  is,  according  to  his  view,  most  unreason- 
able :  Refutation — chaps,  vi.-x.  Defence  of  Christians  against  the 
same  charge — chaps,  x.-xiii.  Celsus  declares  the  Christian  belief 
in  the  future  conflagration  of  the  world,  in  the  salvation  of  the 


ANALYSIS  OF  CONTENTS 


righteous,  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  most  foolish  and  irra- 
tional, alleging  that  this  belief  is  not  held  by  some  of  the  Christian 
believers,  and  adducing  certain  considerations  regarding  the  cha- 
racter of  God  and  the  nature  of  bodies  which  render  such  things 
impossible — chap.  xiv.  Refutation  in  detail  of  these  objections — 
chaps,  xv.-xxiv.  Examination  of  Celsus'  statement  that  the  various 
quarters  of  the  earth  were  from  the  beginning  allotted  to  different 
superintending  spirits,  and  that  in  this  way  the  administration  of 
the  world  is  carried  on — chaps.  xxv.-xxviii.<^  Considerations  of  a  pro- 
founder  kind  may  be  stated  regarding  the  original  distribution  of  the 
various  quarters  of  the  earth  among  different  superintending  spirits^ 
which  considerations  may  be  shown  to  be  free  from  the  absurd  con- 
sequences which  would  follow  from  the  views  of  Celsus  ;  enumera- 
tion of  these — chaps.  xxix.-xxxiiiA  Statement  of  Celsus  regarding 
the  request  of  the  people  of  Marea  and  Apis  to  the  oracle  of  Ammon, 
as  related  by  Herodotus,  and  the  inference  which  he  seems  to  draw 
from  it  and  other  similar  instances  adduced  by  him,  examined  and 
refuted — chaps,  xxxiv.-xxxix.  Examination  of  Celsus'  quotation 
from  Pindar,  that  "Law  is  king  of  all  things" — chap.  xl.  Celsus 
goes  on  to  state  objections  which  apply  to  Jews  much  more  than  to 
Christians,  viz.  that  the  Jewish  doctrine  regarding  heaven  is  not 
peculiar  to  them,  but  has  long  ago  been  received  by  the  Persians ; 
and  proceeds  to  observe  that  it  makes  no  difference  by  what  name 
the  Supreme  Being  is  called  ;  nor  are  the  Jews  to  be  deemed  holier 
than  other  nations  because  abstaining  from  swine's  flesh,^  etc.  Detailed 
examination  and  refutation  of  these  statements — chaps,  xli.-xlix. 
Celsus  denies  that  the  Jews  were  regarded  by  God  with  greater 
favoirr  than  other  nations :  Answer — chap.  1.  Statement  of  Celsus 
that,  admitting  Jesus  to  have  been  an  angel,  He  was  not  the  first 
who  came  to  visit  men,  for  the  histories  relate  that  there  have  been 
many  instances,  several  of  which  he  enumerates — chap.-  hi.  Refutation 
— chaps,  liii.-lviii.  Conclusion  of  Celsus  that  Jews  and  Christians 
have  the  same  God,  and  that  the  latter  adopt  the  Jewish  accounts 
regarding  the  six  days  ;  other  points  of  agreement  mentioned :  exa- 
mination of  these  statements,  as  well  as  of  his  admission  that  certain 
Christians  will  admit  the  identity,  while  others  wUl  deny  it — chaps. 
lix.-lxii.  /  Argument  of  Celsus  against  Christianity,  founded  upon 
the  existence  of  those  who  have  worshipped  demons  as  their  teacher, 
and  of  sects  that  have  hated  each  other,  examined  and  refuted — 
chap.  Ixiii.  Celsus  has  misunderstood  the  prediction  of  the  apostle 
that  deceivers  will  come  in  the  last  times — chap.  Ixiv.  Falsity  of 
Celsus'  statement  that  all  who  differ  so  widely  may  be  heard  saying, 
"  The  world  is  crucified  to  me,  and  I  unto  the  world  " — chap.  Ixv. 

BOOK  YI., 336-42i 

Object  of  Sixth  Book  specially  to  refute  those  objections  which 

2 


xvi  ANALYSIS  OF  CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

Celsus  brings  against  Christians,  and  not  those  derived  from  writers 
on  philosophy — chap.  i.  Explanation  of  the  reasons  which  led  the 
writers  of  Scripture  to  adopt  a  simple  style  of  address — chap.  ii. 
Quotation  from  Plato  regarding  the  "  chief  good,"  and  remarks  upon 
it — chap.  iii.  Inconsistent  conduct  of  those  who  can  so  express 
themselves  pointed  out — chap.  iv.  Comparison  of  the  Platonic 
phraseology,  regarding  the  kindling  of  a  light  in  the  soiil,  with  the 
language  of  Scripture — chajD.  v.  Examination  of  the  question 
whether  Plato  was  acquainted  with  doctrines  more  profound  than 
those  which  are  contained  in  his  writings,  and  demonstration  of  the 
fact  that  the  prophets  did  know  of  greater  things  than  any  in  Scrip- 
ture, but  did  not  commit  them  to  writing — chaps,  vi.-x.  Celsus 
inquires  whether,  amid  the  perplexity  arising  from  the  existence  of 
different  Christs,  men  are  to  cast  the  dice  to  divine  which  of  them 
they  ought  to  follow  ?  Answer — chap.  xi.  Perversion  of  the  lan- 
guage of  Paul  regarding  wisdom  corrected — chaps,  xii.,  xiii.  Exa- 
mination of  Celsus'  charge  that  Christians  are  uninstructed,  servile, 
and  ignorant — chap.  xiy.  Sneer  of  Celsus  at  the  humility  of  Chris- 
tians answered — chap.  xv.  Celsus  charges  Jesus  with  having  per- 
verted the  language  of  Plato  in  His  saying  regarding  the  impossibility 
of  a  rich  man's  entering  the  kingdom  of  heaven :  Answer — chap.  xvi. 
Comparison  of  some  points  of  Scripture  doctrine  with  statements  of 
Plato — chaps,  xvii.,  xviii.  Charge  of  Celsus  that  Christians  have 
misunderstood  language  of  Plato,  in  boasting  of  a  "  super-celestial " 
God :  Answer — chap.  xix.  Explanation  of  certain  terms  referring 
to  heaven — chaps,  xx.,  xxi.  Assertion  of  Celsus,  that  the  Persian 
mysteries  of  ^Mithras  contain  many  obscure  allusions  to  those  heavenly 
things  mentioned  in  the  Christian  writings  ;  absurdity  of  his  state- 
ments— chaps,  xxii.,  xxiii.  Celsus  refers  to  a  certain  diagram,  the 
statements  regarding  which  he  appears  to  have  borrowed  from  the 
sect  of  the  Ophites ;  which  statements,  however,  are  of  no  credibility 
— chap.  xxiv.  Description  of  said  diagram,  and  explanation  of  the 
names  inscribed  in  it — chaps,  xxv.,  xxvi.  Certain  statements  of 
Celsus  regarding  the  "seal"  examined — chap,  xxvii.  Celsus  asserts 
that  Christians  term  the  Creator  an  "accursed"  divinity,  and  asks 
what  could  be  more  foolish  or  insane  than  such  senseless  wisdom  ? 
Examination  of  these  statements — chaps,  xxviii.,  xxix.  Celsus  returns 
to  the  subject  of  the  seven  ruling  demons,  and  makes  reference  to 
the  diagram — chap.  xxx.  Quotations  illustrating  the  manner  of  in- 
voking said  demons  —  chap.  xxxi.  Remarks  on  the  procedure  of 
Celsus — chap,  xxxii.  Further  statements  of  Celsus — chap,  xxxiii. 
Continuation  of  statements  of  Celsus,  to  the  effect  that  Christians 
heap  together  one  thing  after  another, — discourses  of  prophets,  circles 
upon  circles,  effluents  from  an  earthly  church,  and  from  circum- 
cision ;  and  a  power  flowing  from  one  Prunicos,  a  virgin  and  living 
soul ;  and  a  heaven  slain  in  order  to  live,  etc.  etc. — chap,  xxxiv. 


ANALYSIS  OF  CONTENTS  xvii 

PAUB 

Detailed  examination  and  answer  to  these  statements — chaps,  xxxv.- 
xxxvii.  Celsus  introduces  other  charges,  stating  that  there  are  in- 
scriptions in  the  diagram  containing  two  words,  "  a  greater  and  a 
less,"  which  are  referred  to  Father  and  Son  :  Answer— xhap.  xxxviii. 
Statement  of  Celsus,  that  names  of  demons  among  the  Greeks  are 
diflFerent  from  what  they  are  among  the  Scythians ;  gives  illustra- 
tions :  Answer — chap,  xxxix.  Statement  of  Celsus,  on  the  autho- 
rity of  Dionj'sius,  an  Egyptian  magician,  that  magic  arts  have  no 
power  over  philosophers,  but  only  over  uneducated  men  and  persons 
of  corrupt  morals  :  Falsity  of  this  shown — chap.  xli.  Allegation  of 
Celsus,  that  Christians  have  invented  the  fiction  of  the  devil  or 
Satan,  as  an  adversary  to  God,  who  coimterworks  His  plans  and 
defeats  them ;  that  the  Son  of  God,  even,  has  been  vanquished  by 
the  devil ;  and  that  the  devil  will  exhibit  great  and  marvellous 
works,  and  claim  for  himself  the  glory  of  God :  Examination  and 
refutation  of  these  statements  —  chaps,  xlii.  -  xliv.  Celsus  has 
misunderstood  the  statements  of  Scripture  regarding  Antichrist : 
Explanation  of  these — chaps,  xlv.,  xlvi.  Celsus  perverts  the  lan- 
guage of  Christians  regarding  the  "Son  of  God:"  Answer — 
chap,  xlvii.  Mystical  meaning  of  "Son  of  God"  explained — chap, 
xlviii.  Celsus  characterizes  the  Mosaic  cosmogony  as  extremely  silly, 
and  alleges  that  Moses  and  the  prophets,  from  ignorance,  have 
woven  together  a  web  of  sheer  nonsense  :  Answers — chaps,  xlix.-li. 
Celsus  will  not  decide  whether  the  world  was  uncreated  and  inde- 
structible, or  created  but  not  destructible — chap.  lii.  Brings  for- 
ward objections  that  were  raised  against  Marcion,  and  after  several 
disparaging  observations  on  the  manner  of  the  divine  procedure 
towards  men,  asks  how  it  is  that  God  created  evil,  etc. — chap.  liii. 
Answer  to  the  foregoing — chaps,  liv.-lix.  Celsus  repeats  charges 
formerly  made  regarding  the  days  of  creation — chaps.  Ix.,  Ixi.  Com- 
ments on  the  expression,  "  The  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it :  " 
\  Answer — chap.  Ixii.  Asserts  that  "  the  first-born  of  every  creature  " 
1  is  the  image  of  God,  and  that  God  did  not  make  man  in  His  image, 
'  because  he  is  unlike  to  any  other  species  of  being ;  explanation  of 
the  expression,  "  Man  is  made  after  the  image  of  God  " — chap.  Ixiii. 
1  God  partakes  neither  of  form  nor  colour,  nor  can  motion  be  predi- 
cated of  Him ;  explanation  of  passages  that  seem  to  imply  the  reverse 
— chap,  Ixiv.  Inconsistency  of  Celsus  with  his  declared  opinions,  in 
saying  that  God  is  the  source  of  all  things  ;  asserts  that  He  cannot 
be  reached  by  word :  Explanation  and  distinction — chap.  Ixv.  Celsus 
asks,  in  the  person  of  another,  how  it  is  possible  to  know  God,  or  to 
learn  the  way  that  leads  to  Him,  because  darkness  is  thrown  before 
the  eyes,  and  nothing  distinctly  seen :  Answer  to  this  query, 
and  remark  of  Celsus  retorted  upon  himself — chaps.  Ixvi.-lxviii. 
Celsus  represents  our  answer  as  being  this :  "  Since  God  is  great 
and  difficult  to  see,  He  put  His  own  Spirit  into  a  body  that  resem- 


xviu  ANALYSIS  OF  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

bled  ours,  and  sent  it  down  to  us,  that  we  might  be  enabled  to  hear 
Him,  and  become  acquainted  with  Him  :"  Examination  of  this  state- 
ment— chaps.  Ixix.,  Ixx.  According  to  Celsus,  our  doctrine  regard- 
ing the  spirit  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  Stoics,  who  maintain  that 
"  God  is  a  spirit,  diffused  through  all  things,  and  containing  all 
things  within  HiraseK :  "  Answer — chap.  IxxL  Assertion  that  the 
Son  of  God  would  not  be  immortal,  because  He  was  a  spirit  exist- 
ing in  a  human  body  :  Answer — chap.  Ixxii.  Criticises,  in  scoffing 
language,  the  incarnation  ;  exposure  of  his  errors — chap.  Ixxiii.  Re- 
turns to  the  subject  of  Marcion's  opinions ;  introduces  "  two  sons  of 
God,"  and  speaks  scoffingly  of  the  supposed  controversies  between 
them — chap.  Ixxiv.  Maintains  that  the  body  of  Jesus  must  have 
been  different  from  that  of  other  beings,  in  virtue  of  His  divine 
qualities.  Consideration  of  the  prophecies  regarding  Jesus :  Answers 
to  his  statements — chaps.  Ixxv.-lxxvii.  Celsus  ridicules  the  sending 
of  God's  Spirit  into  one  corner  of  the  world  alone,  and  compares  God 
to  Jupiter  in  the  comedy,  who  sent  Mercury  to  the  Athenians  and 
Lacedemonians:  Answer — chaps.  Lxxviii.,  Ixxix.  Celsus  terms  the 
Chaldeans  a  divinely-inspired  nation ;  speaks  of  the  Egyptian  people 
as  also  inspired,  although  he  condemned  them  formerly,  and  refuses 
this  title  to  the  Jews ;  inconsistency  of  all  this — chap.  Ixxx.  Pre- 
tends not  to  understand  how  God  could  send  His  Son  amongst 
wicked  men,  who  were  to  inflict  punishment  upon  Him :  Answer — 
chap.  Ixxxi. 

BOOK  VII., 425-491 

Celsus  denies  that  the  Jewish  prophets  predicted  any  of  the  events 
which  occurred  in  the  life  of  Christ,  and  asserts  that  those  who 
believe  in  the  existence  of  another  God,  besides  that  of  the  Jews, 
cannot  refute  his  objections  ;  while  Christians,  who  recognise  the 
God  of  the  Jews,  rely  for  their  defence  on  the  alleged  predictions 
regarding  Christ :  Remarks — chap.  ii.  Celsus  declares  Christians 
inconsistent  in  rejecting  the  ancient  Grecian  oracles  of  Delphi, 
Dodona,  Clarus,  Branchidaj,  Jupiter  Ammon,  etc.,  which  neverthe- 
less were  of  high  importance,  while  insisting  that  the  sayings  uttered 
in  Judea  are  marvellous  and  unchangeably  true  :  Detailed  answer  to 
this  objection — chaps,  iii.-viii.  Asserts  that  many  individuals  assume 
the  attitude  of  inspiration,  and  claim  to  be  God,  or  the  Son  of  God, 
or  the  divine  Spirit,  and  to  have  come  down  to  save  a  perishing 
world,  and  promise  rewards  to  those  who  do  them  homage,  and 
threaten  vengeance  upon  others  ;  and,  moreover,  to  these  promises 
add  strange  and  unintelligible  words,  which  may  be  applied  by  any 
impostor  to  his  own  purposes — chap.  ix.  Answer  to  these  charges- 
chaps.  x.-xii.  Falsity  of  Celsus'  statement  that  God  favours  the 
commission  of  evil — chap.  xiii.  Celsus  objects,  that  even  if  the 
prophets  foretold  that  the  great  God  would  become  a  slave,  or  die, 


ANALYSIS  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 


there  was  no  necessity  that  He  should  do  so  simply  because  such 
things  had  been  predicted :  Answers — chaps,  xiv.-xvii.  Celsus  objects 
further,  that  if  the  prophets  of  the  God  of  the  Jews  foretold  that 
Jesus  was  to  be  the  Son  of  the  same  God,  how  could  commands 
have  been  given  through  Moses  that  the  Jews  should  accvmiulate 
wealth,  extend  their  dominion,  fill  the  earth,  put  their  enemies  to 
the  sword,  under  threat  of  being  treated  by  God  as  His  enemies ; 
whilst  the  man  of  Nazareth,  His  Son,  delivered  commands  of  a  totally 
opposite  kind  ?  Errors  of  Celsus  pointed  out  in  detail,  and  the  nature 
of  the  two  dispensations  explamed — chaps,  xviii.-xxvi.  Falsity  of 
assertion  that  Christians  believe  the  Divine  Being  to  be  corporeal  in 
His  nature,  and  to  possess  a  body  like  a  man — chap,  xxvii.  Celsus 
alleges  that  the  idea  of  a  better  land  than  this,  to  which  Christians 
hope  to  go  after  death,  has  been  borrowed  from  the  divine  men  of  a 
former  age,  and  quotes  from  Homer  and  Plato  in  support  of  his 
assertion :  Answers — chaps.  xxviii.-xxxi.  Celsus  next  assails  the 
doctrine  of  the  resiu-rection,  and  asserts  that  we  uphold  this  doctrine 
in  order  that  we  may  see  and  know  God  :  Answer — chaps,  xxxii.- 
xxxiv.  The  oracles  of  Trophonius,  etc.,  to  which  Celsus  would 
direct  Christians,  assuring  them  that  there  they  would  see  God 
distinctly,  shown  to  be  demons — chap.  xxxv.  Language  of  Chris- 
tians as  to  the  manner  in  which  they  see  God  misrepresented  by 
Celsus — chaps,  xxxvi.-xxxix.  Language  of  Celsus  quite  inappro- 
priate as  addressed  to  Christians,  and  applicable  only  to  those  whose 
doctrines  differ  widely  from  theirs — chap.  xl.  Celsus  recommends 
Christians  to  follow  the  guidance  of  divinely  inspired  poets,  wise 
men,  and  philosophers,  without  mentioning  their  names :  Remarks 
on  this — chap.  xli.  Proceeds  to  name  Plato  as  an  effective  teacher 
of  theological  truth,  quoting  from  the  Tiimeus  to  the  effect  that  it 
is  a  hard  matter  to  find  out  the  Maker  and  Father  of  the  universe, 
and  an  impossibility  to  make  Him  known  to  all  after  having  found 
Him  ;  and  remarking  that  Christians  cannot  follow  the  example  of 
Plato  and  others,  who  proceed  by  analysis  and  synthesis,  because 
they  are  wedded  to  the  flesh  :  Answers — chaps.  xlii.-xlv.  General 
remarks  upon  the  tone  in  which  Christians  carry  on  controversy  with 
their  opponents — chap.  xlvi.  Actions  of  those  who,  although  seeming 
to  be  wise,  did  not  yield  themselves  to  the  divine  teaching — chap, 
xlvii.  Purity  of  life  exhibited  by  Christians — chap,  xlviii.  Even  by 
those  who  are  unable  to  investigate  the  deeper  questions  of  theology 
— chap.  xlix.  Explanation  of  certain  scriptural  expressions  regard- 
ing "birth"  or  "generation" — chap.  1.  Difference  between 
Christians  and  those  who  received  a  portion  of  the  divine  Spirit 
before  the  dispensation  of  Christianity — chap.  li.  Celsus  proceeds 
to  say  to  Christians  that  they  would  have  done  better  to  have 
selected  as  the  object  of  their  homage  some  one  who  had  died  a 
glorious  death,  whose  divinity  might  have  received  the  support  of 


XX  '  ANALYSIS  OF  CONTENTS. 

PA  01 

some  myth  to  perpetuate  his  memory,  and  names  Hercules,  ^scu- 
lapius,  Anaxarchus,  and  Epictetus,  as  instances,  alleging  that  Jesus 
never  uttered  imder  suffering  any  words  that  could  be  compared  to 
their  utterances — chap.  liii.  Answers — chaps,  liv.-lv.  Sneering 
remark  of  Celsus  that  we  might  better  have  given  the  name  of  Son  of 
God  to  the  Sibyl  than  to  Jesus — chap.  Ivi.  Scoffing  advice  of  Celsus, 
that  we  had  better  choose  Jonah  than  Jesus  for  our  God  :  Answer 
— chap.  Ivii.  Celsus  asserts  that  the  Christian  precept,  "  Whoso- 
ever shall  strike  thee  on  the  one  cheek,  turn  to  him  the  other  also," 
is  an  ancient  saying,  admirably  expressed  long  ago,  and  reported  by 
Christians  in  a  coarser  way,  and  quotes  from  Plato  in  support  of 
his  statement :  Answer — chaps.  Iviii.-lxi.  Celsus  goes  onto  say  that 
Christians  cannot  tolerate  temples,  altars,  or  images,  and  that  in  this 
peculiarity  they  resemble  Scythians  and  other  barbarous  nations, 
adducing  quotations  from  Herodotus  and  Heraclitus  in  support  of 
his  opinion  that  none,  save  those  who  are  utterly  childish,  can  take 
these  things  for  gods — chap.  Ixii.  Detailed  answer — chaps.  Ixiii.- 
Ixvi.  Celsus  remarks  that  Christians  will  not  admit  that  these 
images  are  erected  in  honour  of  certain  beings  who  are  gods,  but 
maintain  that  these  are  demons,  and  ought  not  to  be  worshipped  : 
Remarks  in  answer — chap.  Ixvii.  Asks  why  demons  are  not  to  be 
worshipped,  and  asserts  that  everything,  whether  the  work  of 
angels,  demons,  or  heroes,  is  part  of  the  providential  government  of 
the  Most  High  God  :  Answers — chaps.  Ixviii.-lxx. 

BOOK  Vni., 492-559 

Celsus,  after  his  question  regarding  the  worship  of  demons,  pro- 
ceeds to  represent  us  as  saying  that  it  is  impossible  to  serve  many 
masters,  and  remarks  that  this  is  the  language  of  sedition,  and  used 
only  by  those  who  stand  aloof  from  all  human  society,  etc.  Con- 
sideration of  the  true  language  of  Scripture  upon  this  and  kindred 
points,  in  answer  to  this  statement — chaps,  ii.-viii.  Reckless  lan- 
guage of  Celsus,  who  would  have  us  believe  that  we  are  led  by  our 
worship  of  God  to  that  of  other  things  which  belong  to  God,  with- 
out injury  to  ourselves,  and  who  yet  adds,  ""We  may  honour  none 
except  those  to  whom  that  rigiit  has  been  given  by  God :"  Remarks 
— chap.  ix.  Nature  of  the  honour  which  Christians  pay  to  the  Son 
of  God — chap.  X.  Celsus  asserts  that  those  who  uphold  the  unity  of 
God  are  guilty  of  impiety :  Answer — chap.  xi.  That  if  Christians 
worshipped  one  God  alone,  they  would  have  valid  arguments  against 
the  worship  of  others,  but  they  pay  excessive  reverence  to  one  who 
is  the  servant  of  God :  Refutation — chaps.'xii.-xiv.  Celsus  quotes 
from  the  opinions  of  some  obscure  heretical  sect,  contained  in  what 
is  called  a  Ileavcnhj  Dialogue,  to  the  effect  that  we  suppose  another 
God,  who  is  above  the  heavens,  to  be  the  father  of  Him  whom  we 
honour,  in  order  that  we  may  honour  the  Son  of  Man  alone ;  whom 


ANALYSIS  OF  CONTENTS. 


also  we  assert  to  be  stronger  than  God,  whornles  the  world  and 
who  rules  over  them  :  Answers — chaps,  xv.-xvi.  Celsus  goes  on  to 
say,  that  our  shrinking  from  raising  altars,  statues,  and  temples,  has 
been  agreed  upon  among  us  as  the  badge  of  a  secret  society  :  Answer — 
chaps,  xvii.-xx.  Assertion  of  Celsus,  that  those  devoted  to  the  service 
of  God  may  take  part  in  public  feasts  or  idol  offerings :  Answer — 
chap.  xxi.  Answer  to  objection  that  Christians  themselves  observe 
certain  days,  as  the  Preparation,  the  Passover,  and  Pentecost — 
— chaps,  xxii.,  xxiii.  Reasons  urged  by  Celsus  why  Christians  may 
make  use  of  idol  offerings  and  public  sacrifices  at  public  feasts ; 
examination  of  these — chaps,  xxiv.— xxvii.  Celsus  proceeds  to  state 
that  if  Christians  abstain  from  idol  offerings,  they  ought,  in  consis- 
tency, to  abstain  from  all  animal  food,  like  the  Pythagoreans  : 
Answer — chaps,  xxviii.-xxxii.  Celsus  alleges  that  if  we  come  into 
the  world  at  all,  we  must  give  thanks,  and  first-fruits,  and  prayers 
to  demons,  that  they  may  prove  good  and  kind :  Answer — chaps, 
xxxiii.,  xxxiv.  Celsus  remarks  that  the  satraps  of  a  Persian  or 
Roman  monarch  could  do  great  injury  to  those  who  despised  them, 
and  asks,  will  the  satraps  and  ministers  of  air  and  earth  be  insulted 
with  impunity?  Answer — chaps,  xsxv.,  xxxvi.  Asserts  that  if  Chris- 
tians invoke  those  whom  they  address  by  barbarous  names  they  will 
have  power,  but  not  if  invoked  in  Latin  and  Greek ;  falsity  and 
absurdity  of  this  statement — chap,  xxxvii.  Misrepresents  the  lan- 
guage addressed  by  Christians  to  the  Grecian  statues — chap,  xxxviii. 
Scoffing  language  of  Celsus  to  the  Christians  on  the  rejection  of 
Jesus,  whom  he  terms  a  demon,  and  on  his  inability  to  save  His  fol- 
lowers from  being  put  to  death — chap,  xxxix.  Contrast  between  the 
Christian  and  heathen  doctrine  of  punishment — chap.  xl.  Railing 
address  of  Celsus,  to  the  effect  that  although  Christians  may  revile 
the  statues  of  the  gods,  they  would  not  have  reviled  the  gods  them- 
selves with  impimity ;  that  nothing  happened  to  those  who  crucified 
Jesus ;  that  no  father  was  ever  so  inhuman  as  was  the  father  of 
Jesus,  etc.  etc. :  Answers — chaps,  xli.-xliv.  Celsus  asserts  that  it  is 
of  no  use  to  collect  all  the  oracular  responses  that  have  been  deli- 
vered, for  the  world  is  full  of  them,  and  many  remarkable  events 
have  happened  in  consequence  of  them,  which  establish  their  reality 
and  divinity ;  general  remark  in  answer — chap.  xlv.  Contrast  be- 
tween conduct  of  Pythian  priestess,  who  frequently  allowed  herself 
to  be  bribed,  and  that  of  the  prophets,  who  were  admired  for  their 
downright  truthfulness — chap.  xlvi.  Assertion  of  Greeks,  that  the 
Jewish  history  contains  fabulous  accounts,  refuted — chap,  xlvii. 
Endeavour  of  Celsus  to  show  that  the  doctrines  delivered  at  the  cele- 
bration of  the  pagan  mysteries  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  Chris- 
tians ;  absurdity  of  this — chap,  xlviii.  Celsus  reproaches  Christians 
with  inconsistency  in  their  treatment  of  the  body :  Answer — chaps, 
xlix.,  1.     Celsus  approves  the  Christian  doctrine  that  the  righteous 


xii  ANALYSIS  OF  COxVTENTS. 

PAGE 

shall  enjoy  everlasting  life,  and  the  wicked  shall  suffer  everlasting 
punishment ;  inconsistency  of  this  on  the  part  of  Celsus — chap.  li. 
Anxiety  of  Origan  to  bring  all  men  to  receive  the  whole  system  of 
Christian  truth — chap.  Hi.  Doubtful  manner  in  which  Celsus  speaks 
of  certain  weighty  matters,  and  reluctance  on  his  part  to  set  down 
any  of  them  as  false ;  incoiisistency  of  this  with  the  manner  in  which 
he  treats  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  which  he  regards  with  a  hos- 
tile spirit — chaps,  liii.,  liv.  Celsus  asserts  that  Christians  must  make 
their  choice '  between  two  alternatives ;  nature  of  these :  Answer — 
chaps.  Iv.-lvii.  Seeks  to  degrade  the  souls  of  men  to  the  worship  of 
demons,  by  referring  to  certain  practices  and  beliefs  prevalent  among 
the  Egyptians:  Answer — chaps.  Iviii.-lix.  Admits  that  there  is  a 
dangerous  tendency  in  demon-worship :  Remarks — chaps.  Ix.-lxii. 
Yet  adds  that  the  more  just  opinion  is  that  demons  desire  and  need 
nothing,  but  that  they  take  pleasure  in  those  who  discharge  towards 
them  offices  of  piety :  Answer — chaps.  Ixiii.-lxv.  Celsus  admits  that 
no  worshipper  of  God  should  submit  to  anything  base,  but  should 
encounter  any  torments  or  death,  rather  than  do  anything  imworthy 
of  God ;  and  yet  to  celebrate  the  sun,  or  the  praises  of  Minerva,  is 
only  to  render  higher  praise  to  God ;  inconsistency  of  this — chaps. 
Ixvi.,  Ixvii.  Maintains  that  the  Homeric  saying  must  be  observed, 
"  Let  one  be  king,  whom  the  son  of  crafty  Saturn  appointed ; "  sense 
in  which  this  must  be  understood  by  Christians — chap.  Ixviii.  In- 
consistency on  the  part  of  Celsus,  after  what  he  has  said,  in  asking 
whether  God  would  fight  for  the  Romans,  if  they  were  to  become 
converts  to  the  w^orship  of  the  Most  High — chaps.  Ixix.,  Ixx.  Further 
misrepresentations  of  Celsus  pointed  out — chap.  Ixxi.  Time  wiU 
come  when  the  Word  will  change  every  soul  into  His  own  perfec- 
tions— chap.  IxxiL  Celsus  enjoins  us  to  help  the  king  with  all  our 
might,  and,  if  required,  to  fight  under  him,  or  lead  an  army  along 
with  him :  Answer — chap.  Ixxiii.  Also  to  take  ofl&ce  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  country,  if  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  the  laws 
and  the  support  of  religion :  Answer — chap.  Ixxv.  Conclusion,  in 
which  Origen  mentions  that  Celsus  had  announced  his  intention  of 
writing  a  second  treatise,  which  Oiigon  requests  Ambrose  to  send 
him  if  he  should  have  carried  his  intentions  into  execution. 


LIFE   OF   ORIGEN. 


RIGEX  was  born  in  all  probability  at  Alexandria, 
about  the  year  185  a.d.^  Notwithstanding  that 
his  name  is  derived  from  that  of  an  Egyptian  deity 
(Horus  or  Or "),  there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt 
that  his  parents  were  Christian  at  the  time  of  his  birth.  His 
father  Leonides  was  probably,  as  has  been  conjectured,^  one  of 
the  many  teachers  of  rhetoric  or  grammar  who  abounded  in 
that  city  of  Grecian  culture,  and  appears  to  have  been  a  man 
of  decided  piety.  Under  his  superintendence,  the  youthful 
Origen  was  not  only  educated  in  the  various  branches  of 
Grecian  learning,  but  was  also  required  daily  to  commit  to 
memory  and  to  repeat  portions  of  Scripture  prescribed  him  by 
his  father ;  and  while  under  this  training,  the  spirit  of  inquiry 
into  the  meaning  of  Scripture,  which  afterwards  formed  so  strik- 
ing a  feature  in  the  literary  character  of  the  great  Alexandrine, 
began  to  display  itself.  Eusebius^  relates  that  he  was  not 
satisfied  with  the  plain  and  obvious  meaning  of  the  text,  but 
sought  to  penetrate  into  its  deeper  signification,  and  caused  his 
father  trouble  by  the  questions  which  he  put  to  him  regarding 
the  sense  of  particular  passages  of  Holy  Writ.  Leonides,  like 
many  parents,  assumed  the  appearance  of  rebuking  the  curiosity 
of  the  boy  for  inquiring  into  things  which  were  beyond  his 
youthful  capacity,  and  recommended  him  to  be  satisfied  with 
the  simple  and   apparent  meaning  of   Scripture,  while  he   is 

1  Cf.  Redepenning's  Oricjenes,  vol.  i.  pp.  417-420  (Erste  Beilage :  iiber 
Origenes  Geburtsjahr  und  den  Ort,  wo  er  geboren  wurde). 

2  Cf.  Hid.  (Zweite  Beilage  ;  iiber  Namen  tmd  Beinamen  der  Origenes). 
2  Encyclopaedic  der  KatholiscTien  TJieoIogie,  s.v.  Origenes. 

*  Hist.  Eccki).  b.  vi.  c.  ii.  §  9. 


xxiv  LIFE  OF  ORIGEN. 

described  as  inwardly  rejoicing  at  the  signs  of  talent  exhibited 
by  his  son,  and  as  giving  thanks  to  God  for  having  made  him 
the  parent  of  such  a  cliild.^  But  this  state  of  things  was  not 
to  last ;  for  in  the  year  202,  when  Origen  Avas  about  seventeen 
years  of  age,  the  great  persecution  of  the  Christians  under 
Septimius  Severus  broke  out,  and  among  the  victims  was  his 
father  Leonides,  who  was  apprehended  and  put  in  prison. 
Origen  wished  to  share  the  fate  of  his  father,  but  was  pre- 
vented from  quitting  his  home  by  the  artifice  of  his  mother, 
who  was  obliged  to  conceal  his  clothes  to  prevent  him  from 
carrying  out  his  purpose  !  He  wrote  to  his  father,  however, 
a  letter,  exhorting  him  to  constancy  under  his  trials,  and  en- 
treating him  not  to  change  his  convictions  for  the  sake  of  his 
family."^  By  the  death  of  his  father,  whose  property  was  con- 
fiscated to  the  imperial  treasury,  Origen  was  left,  with  his 
mother  and  six  younger  brothers  dependent  upon  him  for 
support.  At  this  juncture,  a  wealthy  and  benevolent  lady  of 
Alexandria  opened  to  him  her  house,  of  which  he  became  an 
inmate  for  a  short  time.  The  society,  however,  which  he 
found  there  was  far  from  agreeable  to  the  feelings  of  the 
youth.  The  lady  had  adopted  as  her  son  one  Paul  of  Antioch, 
whom  Eusebius  terms  an  "  advocate  of  the  heretics  then  exist- 
ing at  Alexandria."  The  eloquence  of  the  man  drew  crowds 
to  hear  him,  although  Origen  could  never  be  induced  to  regard 
him  with  any  favour,  nor  even  to  join  with  him  in  any  act  of 
worship,  giving  then,  as  Eusebius  remarks,  "  unmistakeable 
specimens  of  the  orthodoxy  of  his  faith."  ^ 

Finding  his  position  in  this  household  so  uncomfortable,  he 
resolved  to  enter  upon  the  career  of  a  teacher  of  grammar,  and 
to  support  himself  by  his  own  exertions.  As  he  had  been 
carefully  instructed  by  his  father  in  Grecian  literature,  and 
had  devoted  himself  to  study  after  his  death,  he  was  enabled 
successfully  to  carry  out  his  intention.  And  now  begins  the 
second  stadium  of  his  career. 

The  diligence  and  ability  with  which  Origen  prosecuted  his 
profession  speedily  attracted  attention  and  brought  him  many 

1  Hist.  Eccle.i.  b.  vi.  c.  ii.  §§  10,  11. 

*  Eusebius,  Hist.  Eccles.  b.  vi.  c.  ii.  :  "ETrex,^,  fivi  li"  ii,u.cis  oi'h.'Ka  t<  (ppoi/rjan;. 

^  rijs  i^  iKiiuov  TTipl  T'^v  Triaxiv  opdoho^t'oc;  svxpyi}  '7rxpii-)(,iT0  (niyy.xrot,. 


LIFE  OF  OEIGEN.  xxv 

pupils.  Among  others  who  sought  to  avail  themselves  of  his 
instructions  in  the  principles  of  the  Christian  religion,  were 
\;  two  young  men,  who  afterwards  became  distinguished  in  the 
i\  history  of  the  Church, — Plutarch,  who  died  the  death  of  martyr- 
dom, and  Heraclas,  who  afterwards  became  bishop  of  Alex- 
andria. It  was  not,  however,  merely  by  his  success  as  a  teacher 
that  Origen  gained  a  reputation.  The  brotherly  kindness  and 
unwearied  affection  which  he  displayed  to  all  the  victims  of  the 
persecution,  which  at  that  time  was  raging  with  peculiar  severity 
at  Alexandria  under  the  prefect  Aquila,  and  in  which  many 
of  his  old  pupils  and  friends  were  martyred,  are  described  as 
being  so  marked  and  conspicuous,  as  to  draw  down  upon  him 
the  fury  of  the  mob,  so  that  he  was  obliged  on  several  occasions 
to  flee  from  house  to  house  to  escape  instant  death.  It  is  easy 
to  understand  that  services  of  this  kind  could  not  fail  to  attract 
the  attention  of  the  heads  of  the  Christian  community  at  Alex- 
andria ;  and  partly,  no  doubt,  because  of  these,  but  chiefly  on 
account  of  his  high  literary  reputation.  Bishop  Demetrius 
appointed  him  to  the  office  of  master  in  the  Catechetical 
School,  which  was  at  that  time  vacant  (by  the  departure  of 
Clement,  who  had  quitted  the  city  on  the  outbreak  of  the  per- 
ky secution),  although  he  was  still  a  layman,  and  had  not  passed 
his  eighteenth  year.  The  choice  of  Demetrius  was  amply 
justified  by  the  result.  Origen  discontinued  his  instructions  in 
literature,  in  order  to  devote  himself  exclusively  to  the  work 
of  teaching  in  the  Catechetical  School.  For  his  labours  he 
refused  all  remuneration.  He  sold  the  books  which  he  pos- 
sessed,— many  of  them  manuscripts  which  he  himself  had  copied, 
— on  condition  of  receiving  from  the  purchaser  four  obols^  a  day  ; 
J  and  on  this  scanty  pittance  he  subsisted,  leading  for  many  years 
^  a  life  of  the  greatest  asceticism  and  devotion  to  study.  After  a 
day  of  labour  in  the  school,  he  used  to  devote  the  greater  part 
of  the  night  to  the  investigation  of  Scripture,  sleeping  on  the 
A  bare  ground,  and  keeping  frequent  fasts.  He  carried  out  lite- 
rally the  command  of  the  Saviour,  not  to  possess  two  coats,  or  to 
wear  shoes,  and  consummated  his  work  of  mortification  of  the 
flesh  by  an  act  of  self-mutilation,  springing  from  a  perverted 
interpretation  of  our  Lord's  words  in  Matt.  xix.  12,  and  under- 
^  The  obol  was  about  three-halfpence  of  our  money.  y_ 


i 


xxvi  LIFE  OF  ORIGEK 

taken   from  a  desire  to  place  himself  beyond  the  reach   of 
temptation  in  the  intercourse  which  he  necessarily  had  to  hold  ' 
with  his  youthful  female  catechumens.^     This  act  was  destined 
to  exercise  a  baneful  influence  upon  his  future  fortunes  in  the 
Church. 

During  the  episcopate  of  Zephyrinus  (201-218)  Origen 
visited  Rome,  and  on  his  return  again  resumed  his  duties  in 
the  Catechetical  School,  transferring  the  care  of  the  younger 
catechumens  to  his  friend  and  former  pupil  Heraclas,  that  he 
might  devote  himself  with  less  distraction  to  the  instruction  of 
the  more  advanced,  and  to  the  more  thoroush  investigation  and 
exposition  of  Scripture.  With  a  view  to  accomplish  this  more 
successfully,  it  is  probable  that  about  this  time  he  set  himself 
to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  Hebrew  language,  the  fruit  of 
which  may  be  seen  in  the  fragments  which  repiain  to  us  of 
his  magnum  opus,  the  Hexapla ;  and  as  many  among  the  more 
cultured  heathens,  attracted  by  his  reputation,  seem  to  have 
attended  his  lectures,  he  felt  it  necessary  to  make  himself  more 
extensively  acquainted  with  the  doctrines  of  the  Grecian  schools, 
that  he  might  meet  his  opponents  upon  their  own  ground,  and 
for  this  purpose  he  attended  the  prelections  of  Ammonius  Saccas, 
at  that  time  in  high  repute  at  Alexandria  as  an  expounder  of 
the  Neo-Platonic  philosophy,  of  which  school  he  has  generally 
been  considered  the  founder.  The  influence  which  the  study 
of  philosophical  speculations  exerted  upon  the  mind  of  Origen 
may  be  traced  in  the  whole  course  of  his  after  development, 
and  proved  the  fruitful  source  of  many  of  those  errors  which 
were  afterwards  laid  to  his  charge,  and  the  controversies 
arising  out  of  which  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  Church  during 
the  two  following  centuries.  As  was  to  be  expected,  the  fame 
of  the  great  Alexandrine  teacher  was  not  confined  to  his  native 
city,  but  spread  far  and  wide ;  and  an  evidence  of  this  was  the 
request  made  by  the  Roman  governor  of  the  province  of  Arabia 
to  Demetrius  and  to  the  prefect  of  Egypt,  that  they  would  send 
Oriffen  to  him  that  he  might  hold  an  interview  with  one  whose 

^  For  a  full  discussion  of  the  doubts  which  have  been  thrown  upon  the 
credibility  of  Eusebius  in  this  matter  by  Schnitzer  and  Baur,  cf.  Rede- 
penning,  Orlgenes,  vol.  i.  pp.  44-1-458,  and  Hcfele,  Encijclopaedie  der 
Katholischen  Theologie,  s.v.  Origeues. 


LIFE  OF  ORIGEN.  xxvii 

reputation  was  so  great.  "We  have  no  details  of  this  visit,  for 
all  that  Eusebius  relates  is  that,  "  having  accomplished  the 
objects  of  his  journey,  he  again  returned  to  Alexandria."^  It 
was  in  the  year  216  that  the  Emperor  Caracalla  visited  Alex-  < 
andria,  and  directed  a  bloody  persecution  against  its  inhabitants, 
especially  the  literary  members  of  the  community,  in  revenge 
for  the  sarcastic  verses  which  had  been  composed  against  him 
for  the  murder  of  his  brother  Geta,  a  crime  which  he  had  per- 
petrated under  circumstances  of  the  basest  treachery  and  cruelty. 
Origen  occupied  too  prominent  a  position  iu  the  literary 
society  of  the  city  to  be  able  to  remain  with  safety,  and  there- 
fore withdrew  to  Palestine  to  his  friend  Bishop  Alexander  of 
Jerusalem,  and  afterwards  to  Csesarea,  where  he  received  an 
honourable  welcome  from  Bishop  Theoctistus.  This  step  proved 
the  beginning  of  his  after  troubles.  These  two  men,  filled  with 
becoming  admiration  for  the  most  learned  teacher  in  the  Church, 
requested  him  to  expound  the  Scriptures  in  their  presence  in  a 
pubhc  assembly  of  the  Christians.  Origen,  although  still  a 
layman,  and  without  any  sacerdotal  dignity  in  the  Church, 
complied  with  the  request.  When  this  proceeding  reached  the 
ears  of  Demetrius,  he  was  filled  with  the  utmost  indignation. 
'•  Such  an  act  was  never  either  heard  or  done  before,  that  lay- 
men should  deliver  discourses  in  the  presence  of  the  bishops,"  ' 
was  his  indignant  remonstrance  to  the  two  offending  bishops, 
and  Origen  received  a  command  to  return  immediately  to  Alex- 
andria. He  obeyed,  and  for  some  years  appears  to  have  devoted 
himself  solely  to  his  studies  in  his  usual  spirit  of  self-abnegation. 
It  was  probably  during  this  period  that  the  commencement  of 
y  his  friendship  with  Ambrosius  is  to  be  dated.  Little  is  known 
of  this  individual.  Eusebius^  states  that  he  had  formerly  been 
an  adherent  of  the  Valentinian  heresy,  but  had  been  converted 
by  the  arguments  and  eloquence  of  Origen  to  the  orthodox  faith 
of  the  Church.  They  became  intimate  friends;  and  as  Ambrose 
seems  to  have  been  possessed  of  large  means,  and  entertained  an 
unbounded  admiration  of  the  learning  and  abilities  of  his  friend, 
it  was  his  delight  to  bear  the  expenses  attending  the  transcrip- 
tion and  publication  of  the  many  works  which  he  persuaded  him 

1  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccles.  b.  vi.  c.  19,  §  16.  -  Ibid.  b.  vi.  c.  19. 

3  Ibid.  b.  vi.  c.  18. 


xxviii  LIFE   OF  ORIGEN. 

to  give  to  the  world.  Pie  furnished  him  "  with  more  than  seven 
amanuenses,  who  relieved  each  other  at  stated  times,  and  with 
an  equal  number  of  transcribers,  along  with  young  girls  who 
had  been  practised  in  caligraphy,"^  to  make  fair  copies  for  pub- 
lication of  the  works  dictated  by  Origen.  The  literary  activity 
\]  of  these  years  must  have  been  prodigious,  and  probably  they 
^  were  among  the  happiest  which  Origen  ever  enjoyed.  Engaged 
in  his  favourite  studies,  surrounded  by  many  friends,  adding 
yearly  to  his  own  stores  of  learning,  and  enriching  the  litera- 
ture of  the  Church  with  treatises  of  the  highest  value  in  the 
department  of  sacred  criticism  and  exegesis,  it  is  difficult  to 
conceive  a  condition  of  things  more  congenial  to  the  mind  of 
a  true  scholar.  Only  one  incident  of  any  importance  seems  to 
have  taken  place  during  these  peaceful  years, — his  visit  to  Julia 
Mammaea,  the  pious  mother  of  Alexander  Severus.  This  noble 
lady  had  heard  of  the  fame  of  Origen,  and  invited  him  to  visit 
her  at  Antioch,  sending  a  military  escort  to  conduct  him  from 
Alexandria  to  the  Syrian  capital.  He  remained  with  her  some 
time,  "exhibiting  innumerable  illustrations  of  the  glory  of  the 
Lord,  and  of  the  excellence  of  divine  instruction,  and  then 
hastened  back  to  his  accustomed  studies."^ 

These  happy  years,  however,  were  soon  to  end.  Origen  was 
called  to  Greece,  probably  about  the  year  228,^  upon  what 
Eusebius  vaguely  calls  "  the  pressing  need  of  ecclesiastical 
affairs,"*  but  which  has  generally  been  understood^  to  refer  to 
the  prevalence  of  heretical  views  in  the  Church  there,  for  the 
eradication  of  which  the  assistance  of  Origen  was  invoked. 
Before  entering  on  this  journey,  he  obtained  letters  of  recom- 
mendation from  his  bishop.^  He  passed  through  Palestine  on 
his  way  to  Greece,  and  at  Caesarea  received  at  the  hands  of  his 
friends  Alexander  and  Theoctistus  the  consecration  to  the 
office  of  presbyter, — an  honour  which  proved  to  him  afterwards 

1  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccles.  b.  vi.  c.  23. 

^  Euseb.  Ilist.  Eccles.  b.  vi.  c.  21 :  Trup  >j  xpovov  Zixrpi\px;,  ■K'Kiiaru.  rs 
oust  its  rviu  Tov  YLvptov  'h6Z,uv  kxI  rij;  rou  6-iov  Oihxax.a'kilov  eipi7*i;  tTrihti^ot- 
f^svo;,  'fTTi  ricg  avvyiht;  saTrtvOe  OixrpiiSxi. 

3  Cf.  Hefele,  Encyclopaedic^  etc.,  s.v.  Origencs. 

*  'E7r£/yow>5C  jipf/aj  ix.x.'Kmioi.aTix.Zv  euiKX  'n'px'/ftxTuv.^ 

^  Cf.  Redepeaning,  vol.  i.  p.  406,  etc.  "  Cf.  ibid. 


LIFE  OF  ORIGEN.  xxix 

the  source  of  much  persecution  and  annoyance.  No  doubt  the 
motives  of  his  friends  were  of  the  higliest  kind,  and  among 
them  may  have  been  the  desire  to  take  away  the  ground  of 
objection  formerly  raised  by  Demetrius  against  the  pubhc 
preaching  of  a  mere  layman  in  the  presence  of  a  bishop.  But 
they  little  dreamed  of  the  storm  which  this  act  of  theirs  was  to 
raise,  and  of  the  consequences  which  it  was  to  bring  upon  the 
head  of  him  whom  they  had  sought  to  honour.  After  com- 
pleting his  journey  through  Greece,  Origen  returned  to  Alex- 
andria about  the  year  230.  He  there  found  his  bishop  greatly 
incensed  against  him  for  what  had  taken  place  at  Csesarea. 
Nor  did  his  anger  expend  itself  in  mere  objurgations  and 
rebukes.  In  the  year  231  a  synod  w^as  summoned  by  Deme- 
trius, composed  of  Egyptian  bishops  and  Alexandrian  presbyters, 
who  declared  Origen  unworthy  to  hold  the  office  of  teacher, 
and  excommunicated  him  from  the  fellowship  of  the  church  of 
Alexandria.  Even  this  did  not  satisfy  the  vindictive  feeling 
of  Demetrius.  He  summoned  a  second  synod,  in  which  the 
bishops  alone  w^ere  permitted  to  vote,  and  by  their  suffrages 
Origen  was  degraded  from  the  office  of  presbyter,  and  intima- 
tion of  this  sentence  was  ordered  to  be  made  by  encyclical  letter 
to  tiie  various  churches.  The  validity  of  the  sentence  was  recog- 
nised by  all  of  them,  with  the  exception  of  those  in  Palestine, 
Phoenicia,  Arabia,  and  Achaia, — a  remarkable  proof  of  the 
position  of  influence  which  was  at  that  time  held  by  the  church 
of  Alexandria.  Origen  appears  to  have  quitted  the  city  before 
the  bursting  of  the  storm,  and  betook  himself  to  Csesarea,  which 
henceforth  became  his  home,  and  the  seat  of  his  future  labours 
for  a  period  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century.  The  motives 
which  impelled  Demetrius  to  this  treatment  of  Origen  have 
been  variously  stated  and  variously  criticised.  Eusebius^  refers 
his  readers  for  a  full  account  of  all  the  matters  involved  to  the 
treatise  which  he  and  Pamphilus  composed  in  his  defence ;  but 
this  work  has  not  come  down  to  us,^  although  we  possess  a  brief 
notice  of  it  in  the  Bihliotheca  of  Photius,^  from  which  we  derive 
our  knowledge  of  the  proceedings  of  the  two  synods.     There 

1  Hist.  Eccles.  b.  vi'.  c.  22  and  c.  83. 

2  With  the  exception  of  the  first  book  ;  cf.  Migne,  vol.  ix.  pp.  542-632. 

3  Cf .  Photii  Bihliotheca,  ed.  Hoeschel,  p.  298. 


i 


^ 


XXX  LIFE  OF  OPJGEN. 

seems  little  reason  to  doubt  that  jealousy  of  interference  on 
the  part  of  the  bishops  of  another  diocese  was  one  main  cause 
of  the  resentment  displayed  by  Demetrius  ;  while  it  is  also 
possible  that  another  alleged  cause,  the  heterodox  character  of 
some  of  Origen's  opinions,  as  made  known  in  his  already  pub- 
lished works,  among  which  were  his  Stromata  and  De  Principiis^ 
may  have  produced  some  effect  upon  the  minds  of  the  hostile 
bishops.  Hefele^  asserts  that  the  act  of  tlie  Palestinian  bishops 
was  contrary  to  the  Church  law  of  the  time,  and  that  Demetrius 
was  justified  on  that  ground  for  his  procedure  against  him. 
But  it  may  well  be  doubted  whether  there  was  any  generally 
understood  law  or  practice  existing  at  so  early  a  period  of  the 
Church's  history.  If  so,  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  it 
should  have  been  unknown  to  the  Palestinian  bishops  ;  or,  on  the 
supposition  of  any  such  existing  law  or  usage,  it  is  equally 
difficult  to  conceive  that  either  they  themselves  or  Origen 
should  have  agreed  to  disregard  it,  knowing  as  they  did  the 
jealous  temper  of  Demetrius,  displayed  on  the  occasion  of 
Origen's  preaching  at  Csesarea  already  referred  to,  and  which 
had  drawn  from  the  Alexandrine  bishop  an  indignant  remon- 
strance, in  which  he  had  asserted  that  such  an  act  was  "  quite  '^ 
unheard-of  bafore."^  To  this  statement  the  Ctesarean  bishops 
\J  ^  /  had  replied  in  a  letter,  in  which  they  enumerated  several  in- 
stances of  laymen  who  had  addressed  the  congregation.*  The 
probabilities,  therefore,  are  in  favour  of  there  being  no  gene- 
rally understood  law  or  practice  on  the  subject,  and  that  the 
procedure,  therefore,  was  dictated  by  hierarchical  jealousy  on 
the  part  of  Demetrius.  According  to  Eusebius,^  indeed,  the 
act  of  mutilation  already  referred  to  was  made  a  ground  of 
accusation  against  Orio;en ;  and  there  seems  no  doubt  that 
there  existed  an  old  canon  of  the  Church,^  based  upon  the  words 
in  Deut.  xxiii.  1,  which  rendered  one  who  had  committed  such 
an  act  ineligible  for  office  in  the  Church.    But  there  is  no  trace 

^  Eusebiua  expressly  mentions  that  both  these  works,   among  others, 
were  published  before  he  left  Alexandria. — Hist.  Eccles.  b.  vi.  c.  24. 

2  s.v.  Origenes. 

3  Hist.  Eccles.  b.  vi.  c.  19.  *  Ibid.  «  Jbld.  h.  vi.  c.  8. 

^  6  ccKpuTYipiccact;  ixvTOv  fi'^  yiViaSa  x-'KriptKog.     Cf.  Redepeuning,   vol.  1. 
pp.  208,  216,  218. 


LIFE  OF  ORIGEN.  xxxi 

\j  of  tills  act,  as  disqualifying  Origen  for  the  office  of  presbyter, 
having  been  urged  by  Demetrius,  so  far  as  can  be  discovered 
from  the  notices  of  the  two  synods  which  have  been  pre- 
served by  Rufinus  and  Photius ;  and  it  seems  extremely  probable, 
as  Redepenning  remarks/  that  if  Demetrius  were  acquainted 
with  this  act  of  Origen,  as  Eusebius  says  he  was,^  he  made  no  (1/ 
public  mention  of  it,  far  less  that  he  made  it  a  pretence  for  his  ' 
deposition. 

Demetrius  did  not  long  survive   the  execution  of  his  ven- 
geance against  his  unfortunate   catechist.     He  died  about  a 
year  afterwards,  and  was  succeeded  by  Heraclas,  the  friend  \A 
and  former  pupil  of  Origen.    It  does  not,  however,  appear  that 
Heraclas  made  any  effort  to  have  the  sentence  against  Origen 
recalled,  so  that  he  might  return  to  the  early  seat  of  his  labours. 
Origen  devoted  himself  at  Ceesarea  chiefly  to  exegetical  studies 
upon  the  books  of   Scripture,  enjoying  the  countenance  and      ^ 
friendship  of  the  two  bishops  Alexander  and  Theoctistus,  who    \ 
are  said  by  Eusebius  "  to  have  attended  him  the  whole  time  as 
pupils  do   their  master."      He  speedily  raised  the  theological 
school  of  that  city  to  a  degree  of  reputation  w^hich   attracted 
many  pupils.      Among  those  who  placed  themselves  under  his 
instructions  were  two  young  Cappadocians,  who  had  come  to 
Caesarea  with  other  intentions,  but  who  were  so  attracted  by 
the  whole  character  and  personality  of  Origen,  that  they  im- 
mediately became  his  pupils.     The  former  of  these,  afterwards  ^ 
Gregory  Thaumaturgus,  Bishop  of  New  Cassarea,  has  left  us,    ; 
in  the  panegyric  which  he  wrote  after  a  discipleship  of  five    ' 
years,  a  full  and  admiring  account  of  the  method  of  his  great 
master. 

The  persecution  under  the  Emperor  Maximin  obliged  Origen 
to  take  refuge  in  Caesarea  in  Cappadocia,  where  he  remained 
in  concealment  about  two  years  in  the  house  of  a  Christian 
lady  named  Juliana,  who  was  the  heiress  of  Symmachus,  the 
Ebionite  translator  of  the  Septuagint,  and  from  whom  he  ob- 
tained several  MSS.  which  had  belonged  to  him.  Here,  also, 
he  composed  his  Exhortation  to  Martyrdom,  which  was  expressly 
written  for  the  sake  of  his  friends  Ambrosius  and  Protoctetus, 
who  had  been  imprisoned  on  account  of  their  Christian  pro- 
^  Cf.  Redepeuniug,  vol.  i.  p.  409,  note  2.         ^  Hist.  Eccles.  b.  vi.  c.  8. 

3 


\ 


t/ 


xxxu  LIFE  OF  OEIGEy. 

fession,  but  who  recovered  their  freedom  after  the  death  of 
Maximin, — an  event  which  allowed  Origen  to  return  to  the 
Palestinian  Caesarea  and  to  the  prosecution  of  his  labours.  A 
visit  to  Athens,  where  he  seems  to  have  remained  some  time, 
and  to  Bostra  in  Arabia,  in  order  to  bring  back  to  the  true  faith 
Bishop  Beryllus,  who  had  expressed  heterodox  opinions  upon 
the  subject  of  the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  in  which  attempt  he 

f\  proved  successful,  were  the  chief  events  of  his  life  during  the 
next  five  years.  On  the  outbreak  of  the  Decian  persecution, 
however,  in  249,  he  was  imprisoned  at  Tyre,  to  wdiich  city  he 
had  gone  from  Cassarea  for  some  unknown  reason,  and  was 
made  to  suffer  great  cruelties  by  his  persecutors.  The  effect 
of  these  upon  a  frame  worn  out  by  ascetic  labours  may  be 
easily  conceived.     Although  he  survived  his  imprisonment,  his 

\  /  body  was  so  weakened  by  his  sufferings,  that  he  died  at  Tyre 
in  254,  in  the  seventieth  year  of  his  age. 

The  character  of  Origen  is  singularly  pure  and  noble  ;  for 
his  moral  qualities  are  as  remarkable  as  his  intellectual  gifts. 
The  history  of  the  church  records  the  names  of  few  whose 
patience  and  meekness  under  unmerited  suffering  were  more 
conspicuous  than  his.  How  very  differently  would  Jerome 
have  acted  under  circumstances  like  those  which  led  to  Origen's 
banishment  from  Alexandria  !  and  what  a  favourable  contrast 
is  presented  by  the  self-denying  asceticism  of  his  whole  life,  to 
the  sins  which  stained  the  early  years  of  Augustine  prior  to  his 
conversion  !  The  impression  which  his  whole  personality  made 
upon  those  who  came  within  the  sphere  of  his  influence  is 
evidenced  in  a  remarkable  degree  by  the  admiring  affection 
displayed  towards  him  by  his  friend  Ambrose  and  his  pupil 
GrefTory.  Nor  was  it  friends  alone  that  he  so  impressed.  To 
him  belongs  the  rare  honour  of  convincing  heretics  of  their 
errors,  and  of  leading  them  back  to  the  church, — a  result  which 
must  have  been  due  as  much  to  the  gentleness  and  earnestness 
of  his  Christian  character,  as  to  the  prodigious  learning,  mar- 
vellous acuteness,  and  logical  power,  which  entitle  him  to  be 
regarded  as  the  greatest  of  the  Fathers.  It  is  singular,  indeed, 
that  a  charge  of  heresy  should  have  been  brought,  not  only 
after  his  death,  but  even  during  his  life,  against  one  who  ren- 
dered such  eminent  services  to  the  cause  of  orthodox  Chris- 


LIFE  OF  ORIGEN.  xxxiii 

tianity.  But  this  charge  must  be  considered  in  reference  to  tlie 
times  wlien  he  lived  and  wrote.  No  General  Council  had  yet  y 
been  held  to  settle  authoritatively  the  doctrine  of  the  church  J 
upon  any  of  those  great  questions,  the  discussion  of  which  con-  ■ 
vulsed  the  Christian  world  during  the  two  following  centu- 
ries; and  in  these  circumstances  greater  latitude  was  naturally 
permissible  than  would  haA'e  been  justifiable  at  a  later  period. 
Moreover,  a  mind  so  speculative  as  that  of  Origen,  and  so 
engrossed  with  the  deepest  and  most  difficult  problems  of  human 
thought,  must  sometimes  have  expressed  itself  in  a  way  liable 
to  be  misunderstood.  But  no  doubt  the  chief  cause  of  his 
being  regarded  as  a  heretic  is  to  be  found  in  the  haste  with 
which  he  allowed  many  of  his  writings  to  be  published.  Had 
he  considered  more  carefully  what  he  intended  to  bring  before 
the  public  eye,  less  occasion  would  have  been  furnished  to 
objectors,  and  the  memory  of  one  of  the  greatest  scholars  and 
most  devoted  Christians  that  the  world  has  ever  seen  would  have 
been  freed,  to  a  great  extent  at  least,  from  the  reproach  of  heresy. 

Origen  was  a  very  voluminous  author.  Jerome  says  that  lie-^ 
wrote  more  than  any  individual  could  read  ;  and  Epiphanius 
{Ba'ves.  Ixiv.  63)  relates  that  his  Avritings  amounted  to  6000 
volumes,  by  which  statement  we  are  probably  to  understand 
that  every  individual  treatise,  large  or  small,  including  each  of 
the  numerous  homilies,  was  counted  as  a  separate  volume. 
The  admiration  entertained  for  him  by  his  friend  Ambrosius, 
and  the  readiness  with  which  the  latter  bore  all  the  expenses  of 
transcription  and  publication,  led  Origen  to  give  to  the  world 
much  which  otherwise  would  never  have  seen  the  lisht. 

The  works  of  the  great  Adamantinus  may  be  classed  under 
the  followinfT  divisions  : — 

EXEGETICAL  WOEKS. 

These  comprise  5'%oXfa,  brief  notes  on  Scripture,  of  which 
only  fragments  remain  :  To/xol,  Commentaries,  lengthened  ex- 
positions, of  which  we  possess  considerable  portions,  including 
those  on  Matthew,  John,  and  Epistle  to  the  Romans  ;  and 
about  200  Homilies,  upon  the  principal  books  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  a  full  list  of  which  may  be  seen  in  ^ligne's 


xxxiv  LIFE  OF  ORIGEN. 

edition.  In  these  works  his  peculiar  system  of  interpretation 
found  ample  scope  for  exercise  ;  and  although  he  carried  out  his 
principle  of  allegorizing  many  things,  which  in  their  historical 
and  literal  signification  offended  his  exegetical  sense,  he  never- 
theless maintains  tliat  "  the  passages  which  hold  good  in  their 
historical  acceptation  are  much  more  numerous  than  those 
which  contain  a  purely  spiritual  meaning  ; "  ^  and  the  student 
will  find  much  that  is  striking  and  suggestive  in  his  remarks 
upon  the  various  passages  which  he  brings  under  review.  For 
an  account  of  his  method  of  interpreting  Scripture,  and  the 
grounds  on  which  he  based  it,  the  reader  may  consult  the  fourth 
book  of  the  treatise  On  the  Principles. 

CRITICAL  WOEKS. 

The  great  critical  work  of  Origen  was  the  Hexapla  or  Six- 
columned  Bible, — an  attempt  to  provide  a  revised  text  of  the 
Septuagint  translation  of  Old  Testament  Scripture.  On  this 
undertaking  he  is  said  to  have  spent  eight-and-twenty  years  of 
his  life,  and  to  have  acquired  a  knowledge  of  Hebrew  in  order 
to  qualify  himself  for  the  task.  Each  page  of  this  work  con- 
sisted, with  the  exception  to  be  noticed  immediately,  of  six 
columns.  In  the  first  was  placed  the  current  Hebrew  text ; 
in  the  second,  the  same  represented  in  Greek  letters ;  in  the 
third,  the  version  of  Aquila ;  in  the  fourth,  that  of  Symmachus; 
in  the  fifth,  the  text  of  the  LXX.,  as  it  existed  at  the  time  ; 
and  in  the  sixth,  the  version  of  Theodotion.  Having  come  into 
possession  also  of  certain  other  Greek  translations  of  some  of 
the  books  of  Scripture,  he  added  these  in  their  appropriate 
place,  so  that  the  work  presented  in  some  parts  the  appearance 
of  seven,  eight,  or  nine  columns,  and  was  termed  Heptapla, 
Octopla,  or  Enneapla,  in  consequence.  He  inserted  critical 
marks  in  the  text  of  the  LXX.,  an  asterisk  to  denote  what 
ought  to  be  added,  and  an  obelus  to  denote  what  ought  to 
be  omitted  ;  taking  the  additions  chiefly  from  the  version  of 
Theodotion.  The  work,  with  the  omission  of  the  Hebrew 
column,  and  that  representing  the  Hebrew  in  Greek  letters, 
was  termed  Tetrapla ;  and  with  regard  to  it,  it  is  uncertain 
^  Origen's  "WorLs,  vol.  i.  pp.  323-4  (Ante-Nicene  Library). 


LIFE  OF  ORIGEN.  xxxv 

whether  it  is  to  be  considered  a  preliminary  work  on  the  part 
of  Origen,  undertaken  by  way  of  preparation  for  the  larger,  or 
mei'ely  as  an  excerpt  from  the  latter.  The  whole  extended,  it 
is  said,  to  nearly  fifty  volumes,  and  was,  of  course,  far  too  bulky 
for  common  use,  and  too  costly  for  transcription.  It  was  placed 
in  some  repository  in  the  city  of  Tyre,  from  which  it  was  re- 
moved after  Origen's  death  to  the  library  at  Csesarea,  founded 
by  Pamphilus,  the  friend  of  Eusebius.  It  is  supposed  to  have 
been  burnt  at  the  capture  of  Cassarea  by  the  Arabs  in  653  A.d. 
The  column,  however,  containing  the  version  of  the  LXX.  had 
been  copied  by  Pamphilus  and  Eusebius,  along  with  the  critical 
marks  of  Origen,  although,  owing  to  carelessness  on  the  part 
of  subsequent  transcribers,  the  text  was  soon  again  corrupted. 
The  remains  of  this  work  were  published  by  Montfaucon  at 
Paris,  1713,  2  vols,  folio  ;  by  Bahrdt  at  Leipsic  in  1769  ;  and 
is  at  present  again  in  course  of  publication  from  the  Clarendon 
Press,  Oxford,  under  the  editorship  of  Mr.  Field,  who  has  made 
use  of  the  Syriac-Hexaplar  version,  and  has  added  various 
fragments  not  contained  in  prior  editions.  (For  a  full  and 
critical  account  of  this  work,  the  English  reader  is  referred  to 
Dr.  Sam.  Davidson's  Biblical  Criticism,  vol.  i.  ch.  xii.,  which 
has  been  made  use  of  for  the  above  notice.) 

APOLOGETICAL  WORKS. 

His  great  apologetical  work  was  the  treatise  undertaken  at 
the  special  request  of  his  friend  Anibrosius,  in  answer  to  the 
attack  of  the  heathen  philosopher  Celsus  on  the  Christian 
religion,  in  a  work  which  he  entitled  ^070?  oXtjOt]^,  or  A  True 
Discourse.  Origen  states  that  he  had  heard  that  there  were 
two  individuals  of  this  name,  both  of  them  Epicureans,  the 
earlier  of  the  two  having  lived  in  the  time  of  Nero,  and  the 
other  in  the  time  of  Adrian,  or  later.^  Redepenning  is  of 
opinion  that  Celsus  must  have  composed  his  work  in  the  time 
of  Marcus  Aurelius  (161-180  a.d.),  on  account  of  his  supposed 
mention  of  the  Marcionites  (whose  leader  did  not  make  his 
appearance  at  Rome  before  142  a.d.),  and  of  the  Marcellians 
(followers  of  the  Carpocratian  Marcellina),  a  sect  which  was 
^  Cf.  Contra  Celsiim,  i.  c.  viii.  ad  Jin. 


y 


xxxvi  LIFE  OF  ORIGEN. 

founded  after  the  year  155  a.d.  under  Bishop  Anicetus.^ 
Origen  believed  his  opponent  to  be  an  Epicurean,  but  to  have 
adopted  other  doctrines  than  those  of  Epicurus,  because  he 
thought  that  by  so  doing  lie  could  assail  Christianity  to  greater 
advantage.^  The  work  which  Origen  composed  in  answer  to 
the  so-styled  True  Discourse  consists  of  eight  books,  and  be- 
longs to  the  latest  years  of  his  life.  It  has  always  been  regarded^ 
as  the  great  apologetic  work  of  antiquity  ;  and  no  one  can 
peruse  it  without  being  struck  by  the  multifarious  reading,  won- 
derful acuteness,  and  rare  subtlety  of  mind  which  it  displays. 
But  the  rule  which  Origen  prescribed  to  himself,  of  not  allow- 
ing a  single  objection  of  his  opponent  to  remain  unanswered, 
leads  him  into  a  minuteness  of  detail,  and  into  numerous  repeti- 
tions, which  fatigue  the  reader,  and  detract  from  the  interest 
and  unity  of  the  work.  He  himself  confesses  that  he  began  it 
on  one  plan,  and  carried  it  out  on  another.^  No  doubt,  had 
he  lived  to  re-write  and  condense  it,  it  would  have  been  more 
worthy  of  his  reputation.  But  with  all  its  defects,  it  is  a  great 
work,  and  well  deserves  the  notice  of  the  students  of  Apolo- 
getics. The  table  of  contents  prefixed  to  the  translation  will 
convey  a  better  idea  of  its  nature  than  any  description  which 
our  limits  would  permit  us  to  give. 


DOGMATIC  WORKS. 

These  include  the  Xrpwixareh,  a  work  composed  in  imitation 
of  the  treatise  of  Clement  of  the  same  name,  and  consisting 
originally  of  ten  books,  of  which  only  three  fragments  exist 
in  a  Latin  version  by  Jerome  (Migne,  vol.  i.  pp.  102-107) ;  a 
treatise  on  the  Resurrection,  of  which  four  fragments  remain 
(Migne,  vol.  i.  pp.  91-100)  ;  and  the  treatise  Hepl  ^Ap^wv,  JDe 
Principiis^  which  contains  Origen's  views  on  the  various  ques- 
tions of  systematic  theology.  The  work  has  come  down  to  us 
in  the  Latin  translation  of  his  admirer  Rufinus ;  but,  from  a 
comparison  of  the  few  fragments  of  the  original  Greek  which  ^ 
have  been  preserved,  we  see  that  Rufinus  was  justly  chargeable 

^  Cf.  Redcpenuing,  vol.  ii.  p.  131,  note  2. 

^   Contra  Cclsmn,  i.  ch.  viii. 

3  Preface,  §  6  ;  cf.  vol.  i.  p.  307. 


LIFE  OF  ORIGEN.  xxxvii 

with  altering  many  of  Origen's  expressions,  in  order  to  bring 
'  his  doctrine  on  certain  points  more  into  harmony  with  the 
orthodox  views  of  the  time.  The  De  Principiis  consists  of 
four  books,  and  is  translated  in  the  first  volume  of  the  works 
of  Origen  in  this  series,  to  which  we  refer  the  reader. 

PRACTICAL  WORKS. 

Under  this  head  we  place  the  little  treatise  TJepl  Euxv'^,  On 
Prayer^  written  at  the  instance  of  his  friend  Ambrose,  and 
which  contains  an  exposition  of  the  Lord's  Prayer;  the  ^10709 
'jrporpeTTTiKO'i  eh  fiaprvptov^  Exliortation  to  Martyrdom^  com- 
posed at  the  outbreak  of  the  persecution  by  Maximian,  when 
his  friends  Ambrose  and  Protoctetus  were  imprisoned.  Of  his 
numerous  letters  only  two  have  come  down  entire,  viz.  that 
which  was  addressed  to  Julius  Africanus,  who  had  questioned 
the  genuineness  of  the  history  of  Susanna  in  the  apocryphal 
additions  to  the  book  of  Daniel,  and  that  to  Gregory  Thauma- 
turgus  on  the  use  of  Greek  philosophy  in  the  explanation  of 
Scripture,  although,  from  the  brevity  of  the  latter,  it  is  ques- 
tionable whether  it  is  more  than  a  fragment  of  the  original. 
(Both  of  these  are  translated  in  the  first  volume  of  Origen's 
works  in  this  series.)  The  ^iXoKoXla^  Philocalia,  was  a  com- 
pilation from  the  writings  of  Origen,  Intended  to  explain  the 
difficult  passages  of  Scripture,  and  executed  by  Basil  the  Great 
and  Gregory  of  Nazlanzus;  large  extracts  of  which  have  been 
preserved,  especially  of  that  part  which  was  taken  from  the 
treatise  against  Celsus.  The  remains  were  first  printed  at 
Paris  in  1618,  and  again  at  Cambridge  in  1676,  in  the  reprint 
of  Spencer's  edition  of  the  Contra  Celsum.  In  the  Benedictine 
edition,  and  in  Migne's  reprint,  the  various  portions  are  quoted 
in  footnotes  under  the  respective  passages  of  Origen's  writings. 

EDITIONS  OF  OPwIGEN. 

The  first  published  works  of  Origen  were  his  Homilies,  which 
appeared  in  1475,  although  neither  the  name  of  the  publisher 
nor  the  place  of  publication  is  given.  These  were  followed  by 
the  treatise  against  Celsus  in  the  translation  of  Christopher 
Persana,  which  appeared  at  Eome  in  1481 ;  and  this,  again,  by 


^/ 


xxxviu  LIFE  OF  ORIGEN. 

an  edition  of  the  Homilies  at  Venice  in  1503,  containing  those 
on  tlie  four  first  books  of  Moses,  Joshua,  and  Judges.  The 
first  collective  edition  of  the  whole  works  was  given  to  the 
world  in  a  Latin  translation  by  James  Merlin,  and  was  pub- 
lished in  two  folio  volumes,  first  at  Paris  in  1512  and  1519, 
and  afterwards  at  Paris  in  1522  and  1530.  A  revision  of 
Merlin's  edition  was  begun  by  Erasmus,  and  completed,  after 
his  death,  by  Beatus  Phenanus.  This  appeared  at  Basle  in 
1536  in  two  folio  volumes,  and  again  in  1557  and  1571.  A 
much  better  and  more  complete  edition  was  undertaken  by  the 
Benedictine  Gilbertus  Genebrardus,  which  was  published  also  in 
two  volumes  folio  at  Paris  in  1574,  and  again  in  1604  and  1619. 
Hoeschel  published  the  treatise  against  Celsus  at  Augsburg  in 
1605;  Spencer,  at  Cambridge  in  1658  and  1677,  to  which  w-as 
added  the  Philocalia,  which  had  first  appeared  in  a  Latin  trans- 
lation by  Genebrardus,  and  afterwards  in  Greek  by  Tarinus  at 
Paris  in  1618  and  1624,  in  quarto.  Huet,  Bishop  of  Avranches, 
published  the  exegetical  writings  in  Greek,  including  the  Com- 
mentaries on  Matthew  and  John,  in  two  volumes  folio,  of  which 
the  one  appeared  at  llouen  in  1668,  and  the  other  at  Paris  in 
1679.  The  great  edition  by  the  two  learned  Benedictines  of 
St.  Maur — Charles  de  la  Pue,  and  his  nephew  Vincent  de  la 
Kue — was  published  at  Paris  between  the  years  1733  and  1759. 
This  is  a  work  of  immense  industry  and  labour,  and  remains 
the  standard  to  the  present  time.  It  has  been  reprinted  by 
Migne  in  his  series  of  the  Greek  Fathers,  in  nine  volumes,  large 
8vo.  In  Oberthiir's  series  of  the  Greek  Fathers,  seven  volumes 
contain  the  chief  portion  of  Origen's  writings;  while  Lom- 
matzsch  has  published  the  whole  in  twenty-five  small  volumes, 
Berlin  1831-48,  containing  the  Greek  text  alone. — [Abridged 
from  Eedepenning.] 

For  further  information  upon  the  life  and  opinions  of  Origen, 
the  reader  may  consult  Pedepenning's  Origenes^  2  vols.,  Bonn 
1841,  1846;  the  articles  in  Herzog's  Encyclopddie  and  Wetzer's 
and  Wette's  Kioxhen-Lexikon,  by  Kling  and  Hefele  respectively; 
the  brilliant  sketch  by  Pressense  in  his  Martyrs  and  Apologists 
(Harwood's  translation) ;  and  the  learned  compilation  of  Huet, 
entitled  Origeniaiia,  to  be  found  in  the  ninth  volume  of  Migne's 
edition. 


OEIGEN  AGAINST   CELSUS. 


BOOK    11. 


Chapter  i. 


HE  first  book  of  our  answer  to  the  treatise  of  Celsus, 
entitled  A  True  Discourse,  ^Yhich  concluded  with 
the  representation  of  the  Jew  addressing  Jesus, 
having  now  extended  to  a  sufficient  length,  we  in- 
tend the  present  part  as  a  reply  to  the  charges  brought  by  him 
against  those  who  have  been  converted  from  Judaism  to  Chris- 
tianity. And  we  call  attention,  in  the  first  place,  to  this 
special  question,  viz.  why  Celsus,  when  he  had  once  resolved 
upon  the  introduction  of  individuals  upon  the  stage  of  his  book, 
did  not  represent  the  Jew  as  addressing  the  converts  from 
heathenism  rather  than  those  from  Judaism,  seeing  that  his 
discourse,  if  directed  to  us,  would  have  appeared  more  likely 
to  produce  an  impression.^  But  probably  this  claimant  to 
universal  knowledge  does  not  know  what  is  appropriate  in  the 
matter  of  such  representations ;  and  therefore  let  us  proceed 
to  consider  what  he  has  to  say  to  the  converts  from  Judaism. 
He  asserts  that  "  they  have  forsaken  the  law  of  their  fathers, 
in  consequence  of  their  minds  being  led  captive  by  Jesus  ; 
that  they  have  been  most  ridiculously  deceived,  and  that  they 
have  become  deserters  to  another  name  and  to  another  mode  of 
life."  Here  he  has  not  observed  that  the  Jewish  converts  have 
not  deserted  the  law  of  their  fathers,  inasmuch  as  they  live 
according  to  its  prescriptions,  receiving  their  very  name  from 
the  poverty  of  the  law,  according  to  the  literal  acceptation  of 
the  word  ;  for  Ebion  signifies  "  poor"  among  the  Jews,^  and 
those  Jews  who  have  received  Jesus  as  Christ  are  called  by  the 
name  of  Ebionites.     Nay,  Peter  himself  seems  to  have  observed 

OEIG. — VOL.  II.  A 


2  OltlGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

for  a  considerable  time  the  Jewish  observances  enjoined  by  the 
law  of  Moses,  not  having  yet  learned  from  Jesus  to  ascend 
from  the  law  that  is  regulated  according  to  the  letter,  to  that 
which  is  interpreted  according  to  the  spirit, — a  fact  which  we 
learn  from  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  For  on  the  day  after  the 
angel  of  God  appeared  to  Cornelius,  suggesting  to  him  "  to 
send  to  Joppa,  to  Simon  surnamed  Peter,"  Peter  "  went  up 
into  the  upper  room  to  pray  about  the  sixth  hour.  And  he 
became  very  hungry,  and  would  have  eaten :  but  Avhile  they 
made  ready  he  fell  into  a  trance,  and  saw  heaven  opened,  and 
a  certain  vessel  descending  unto  him,  as  it  had  been  a  great 
sheet  knit  at  the  four  corners,  and  let  down  to  the  earth ; 
wherein  were  all  manner  of  four-footed  beasts,  and  creeping 
things  of  the  earth,  and  fowls  of  the  air.  And  there  came  a 
voice  to  him,  Rise,  Peter ;  kill,  and  eat.  But  Peter  said.  Not 
so,  Lord ;  for  I  have  never  eaten  anything  that  is  common  or 
unclean.  And  the  voice  spake  unto  him  again  the  second 
time.  What  God  hath  cleansed,  that  call  thou  not  common."  ^ 
Now  observe  how,  by  this  instance,  Peter  is  represented  as  still 
observing  the  Jewish  customs  respecting  clean  and  unclean 
animals.  And  from  the  narrative  that  follows,  it  is  manifest 
that  he,  as  being  yet  a  Jew,  and  living  according  to  their  tradi- 
tions, and  despising  those  who  were  beyond  the  pale  of  Judaism, 
stood  in  need  of  a  vision  to  lead  him  to  communicate  to  Cor- 
nelius (who  was  not  an  Israelite  according  to  the  flesh),  and  to 
those  who  were  with  him,  the  word  of  faith.  Moreover,  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  Paul  states  that  Peter,  still  from  fear 
of  the  Jews,  ceased  upon  the  arrival  of  James  to  eat  with  the 
Gentiles,  and  "  separated  himself  from  them,  fearing  them  that 
were  of  the  circumcision ;"  ^  and  the  rest  of  the  Jews,  and 
Barnabas  also,  followed  the  same  course.  And  certainly  it 
was  quite  consistent  that  those  should  not  abstain  from  the 
observance  of  Jewish  usages  who  were  sent  to  minister  to  the 
circumcision,  when  they  who  "  seemed  to  be  pillars"  gave  the 
right  hand  of  fellowship  to  Paul  and  Barnabas,  in  order  that, 
while  devoting  themselves  to  the  circumcision,  the  latter  might 
preach  to  the  Gentiles.  And  why  do  I  mention  that  they  who 
preached  to  the  circumcision  withdrew  and  separated  thera- 
1  Cf.  Acts  X.  9-15.  '  Cf.  Gal.  ii.  12. 


Book  II.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  3 

selves  from  the  heathen,  when  even  Paul  himself  "  became  as  a 
Jew  to  the  Jews,  that  he  might  gain  the  Jews?"  Wherefore 
also  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  it  is  related  that  he  even 
brought  an  offering  to  the  altar,  that  he  might  satisfy  the  Jews 
that  he  was  no  apostate  from  their  law.^  Now,  if  Celsus  had 
been  acquainted  with  all  these  circumstances,  he  would  not 
have  represented  the  Jew  holding  such  language  as  this  to  the 
converts  from  Judaism :  "  What  induced  you,  my  fellow- 
citizens,  to  abandon  the  law  of  your  fathers,  and  to  allow  your 
minds  to  be  led  captive  by  him  with  whom  we  have  just  con- 
versed, and  thus  be  most  ridiculously  deluded,  so  as  to  become 
deserters  from  us  to  another  name,  and  to  the  practices  of 
another  life?" 

Chapter  ii. 

Now,  since  we  are  upon  the  subject  of  Peter,  and  of  the 
teachers  of  Christianity  to  the  circumcision,  I  do  not  deem  it 
out  of  place  to  quote  a  certain  declaration  of  Jesus  taken  from 
the  Gospel  according  to  John,  and  to  give  the  explanation  of 
the  same.  For  it  is  there  related  that  Jesus-  said :  "  I  have  yet 
many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now. 
Howbeit  when  He,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  He  will  guide 
you  into  all  the  truth :  for  He  shall  not  speak  of  Himself ;  but 
whatsoever  He  shall  hear,  that  shall  He  speak."  ^  And  when 
we  inquire  what  were  the  "many  things"  referred  to  in  the 
passage  which  Jesus  had  to  say  to  His  disciples,  but  which 
they  were  not  then  able  to  bear,  I  have  to  observe  that,  pro- 
bably because  the  apostles  were  Jews,  and  had  been  trained 
up  according  to  the  letter  of  the  Mosaic  law,  He  was  unable 
to  tell  them  what  was  the  true  law,  and  how  the  Jewish  wor- 
ship consisted  in  the  pattern  and  shadow  of  certain  heavenly 
things,  and  how  future  blessings  were  foreshadowed  by  the 
injunctions  regarding  meats  and  drinks,  and  festivals,  and  new 
moons,  and  sabbaths.  These  were  many  of  the  subjects  which 
He  had  to  explain  to  them  ;  but  as  He  saw  that  it  was  a  work 
of  exceeding  difficulty  to  root  out  of  the  mind  opinions  that 
have  been  almost  born  with  a  man,  and  amid  which  he  has 
been  brought  up  till  he  reached  the  period  of  maturity,  and 
1  Cf.  Acts  xxi.  26.  2  John  xvi.  12,  13. 


4  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

which  have  produced  in   those  -svho   have  adopted  them    the 
belief  that  they  are  divine,  and  that  it  is  an  act  of  impiety  to 
overthrow  them ;    and  to   demonstrate   by  the  superiority  of 
Christian    doctrine,    that    is,   by   the    truth,   in    a   manner   to 
convince  the  hearers,  that  such  opinions  were  but  "  loss  and 
dung,"  He  postponed  such  a  task  to  a  future  season — to  that, 
namely,  which  followed  His  passion  and  resurrection.     For  the 
bringing  of  aid  unseasonably  to  those  who  were  not  yet  capable 
of  receiving  it,  might  have  overturned  the  idea  which  they  had 
already  formed  of  Jesus,  as  the  Christ,  and  the  Son  of  the 
living  God.      And    see  if   there  is  not  some  well-grounded 
reason  for  such  a  statement  as  this,  "  I  have  many  things  to 
say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now  :"  seeing  there  are 
many  points  in  the  law  which  require  to  be  explained  and 
cleared  up  in  a  spiritual  sense,  and  these  the  disciples  W'ere  in 
a  manner  unable  to  bear,  having  been  born  and  brought  up 
amongst  Jews.     I  am  of  opinion,  moreover,  that  since  these 
rites  were  typical,  and  the  truth  was  that  which  was  to  be 
taught    them   by  the   Holy   Spirit,   these   words   were    added, 
"  When  He  is  come  who  is  the  Spirit  of  truth,  He  will  lead 
you  into  all  the  truth;"  as  if  He  had  said,  into  all  the  truth 
about  those  things  which,  being  to  you  but  types,  ye  believed 
to  constitute  a  true  worship  which  ye  rendered  unto   God. 
And  so,  according  to  the  promise  of  Jesus,  the  Spirit  of  truth 
came  to  Peter,  saying  to  him,  with  regard  to  the  four-footed 
beasts,  and  creeping  things  of  the  earth,  and  fowls  of  the  air : 
"Arise,  Peter;  kill,  and  eat."     And  the  Spirit  came  to  him 
while  he  was  still  in  a  state  of  superstitious  ignorance  ;   for  he 
said,  in  answer  to  the  divine  command,  "  Not  so.  Lord ;  for  I 
have  never  yet  eaten  anything  common  or  unclean."     He  in- 
structed him,  however,  in  the  true  and  spiritual  meaning  of 
meats,  by  saying,  "  What  God  hath  cleansed,  that  call  not  thou 
common."     And  so,  after  that  vision,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  which 
conducted  Peter  into  all  the  truth,  told  him  the  many  things 
which  he  was  unable  to  bear  when  Jesus  was  still  with  him  in 
the  flesh.     But  I  shall  have  another  opportunity  of  explaining 
those  matters,  which  are  connected  with  the  literal  acceptation 
of  the  Mosaic  law. 


BooKii.J  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  5 

Chapter  hi. 

Oar  present  object,  however,  is  to  expose  tlie  ignorance  of 
Celsus,  who  makes  tliis  Jew  of  liis  address  his  fellow-citizen 
and  the  Israelitish  converts  in  the  following  manner  :  "  What 
induced  you  to  abandon  the  law  of  your  fathers  ?  "  etc.  Now, 
how  should  they  have  abandoned  the  law  of  their  fathers,  who 
are  in  the  habit  of  rebuking  those  who  do  not  listen  to  its  com- 
mands, saying,  "  Tell  me,  ye  who  read  the  law,  do  ye  not  hear 
the  law  ?  For  it  is  written,  that  Abraham  had  two  sons ;  "  and 
so  on,  down  to  the  place,  "  which  things  are  an  allegory,"  ^  etc.  ? 
And  how  have  they  abandoned  the  law  of  their  fathers,  who 
are  ever  speaking  of  the  usages  of  their  fathers  in  such  words 
as  these  :  "  Or  does  not  the  law  say  these  things  also  ?  For 
it  is  written  in  the  law  of  ISIoses,  Thou  shalt  not  muzzle  the 
mouth  of  the  ox  that  treadetli  out  the  corn.  Doth  God  care 
for  oxen  ?  or  saith  He  it  altogether  for  our  sakes  ?  for  for  our 
sakes  it  was  written,"  and  so  on  ?  ^  Now,  how  confused  is  the 
reasoning  of  the  Jew  in  regard  to  these  matters  (although  he 
had  it  in  his  power  to  speak  with  greater  effect)  when  he  says  : 
"  Certain  among  you  have  abandoned  the  usages  of  our  fathers 
under  a  pretence  of  explanations  and  allegories;  and  some  of  you, 
although,  as  ye  pretend,  interpreting  them  in  a  spiritual  manner, 
nevertheless  do  observe  the  customs  of  our  fathers  ;  and  some  of 
you,  without  any  such  interpretation,  are  willing  to  accejit  Jesus 
as  the  subject  of  prophecy,  and  to  keep  the  law  of  Moses  accord- 
ing to  the  customs  of  the  fathers,  as  havins;  in  the  words  the 
whole  mind  of  the  Spirit."  Now  how  was  Celsus  able  to  see 
these  things  so  clearly  in  this  place,  when  in  the  subsequent  parts 
of  his  work  he  makes  mention  of  certain  godless  heresies  alto- 
gether alien  from  the  doctrine  of  Jesus,  and  even  of  others  which 
leave  the  Creator  out  of  account  altogether,  and  does  not  appear 
to  know  that  there  are  Israelites  who  are  converts  to  Chris- 
tianity, and  who  have  not  abandoned  the  law  of  their  fathers? 
It  was  not  his  object  to  investigate  everything  here  in  the  spirit 
of  truth,  and  to  accept  whatever  he  might  find  to  be  useful ; 
but  he  composed  these  statements  in  the  spirit  of  an  enemy,  and 
with  a  desire  to  overthrow  everything  as  soon  as  he  heard  it. 
1  Gal.  iv.  21,  22.  -  1  Cor.  ix.  8. 


ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  il 


Chapter  iv. 

The  Jew,  then,  continues  his  address  to  converts  from  his 
own  nation  thus  :  "  Yesterday  and  the  day  before,  when  we 
visited  with  punishment  the  man  who  deluded  you,  ye  became 
apostates  fi'om  the  law  of  your  fathers ; "  showing  by  such  state- 
ments (as  we  have  just  demonstrated)  anything  but  an  exact 
knowledge  of  the  truth.  But  what  he  advances  afterwards 
seems  to  have  some  force,  when  he  says  :  "  How  is  it  that  you 
take  the  beginning  of  your  system  from  our  worship,  and  when 
you  have  made  some  progress  you  treat  it  with  disrespect, 
although  you  have  no  other  foundation  to  show  for  your  doc- 
trines than  our  law  ? "  Now,  certainly  the  introduction  to 
Christianity  is  through  the  Mosaic  worship  and  the  prophetic 
writings  ;  and  after  the  introduction,  it  is  in  the  interpretation 
and  explanation  of  these  that  progress  takes  place,  while  those 
who  are  introduced  prosecute  their  investigations  into  "  the 
mystery  according  to  revelation,  which  was  kept  secret  since 
the  world  began,  but  now  is  made  manifest  in  the  Scriptures 
of  the  prophets,"  ^  and  by  the  appearance  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  But  they  who  advance  in  the  knowledge  of  Chris- 
tianity do  not,  as  ye  allege,  treat  the  things  written  in  the 
law  with  disrespect.  On  the  contrary,  they  bestow  upon  them 
greater  honour,  showing  what  a  depth  of  wise  and  mysterious 
reasons  is  contained  in  these  writings,  which  are  not  fully 
comprehended  by  the  Jews,  Avho  treat  them  superficially,  and 
as  if  they  were  in  some  degree  even  fabulous.^  And  what 
absurdity  should  there  be  in  our  system — that  is,  the  gospel — 
having  the  law  for  its  foundation,  when  even  the  Lord  Jesus 
Himself  said  to  those  who  would  not  believe  upon  Him  :  "  If 
ye  had  believed  Moses,  ye  would  have  believed  me,  for  he  wrote 
of  me.  But  if  ye  do  not  believe  his  writings,  how  shall  ye  believe 
my  words  ?  "  ^  Nay,  even  one  of  the  evangelists — Mark- 
says  :  "  The  beginning  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Clu'ist,  as  it 
is  written  in  the  prophet  Isaiah,  Behold,  I  send  my  messenger 
before  Thy  face,  who  shall  prepare  Thy  way  before  Thee,"  * 

^  Rom.  xvi.  25. 

8  John  v.  4G,  47.  *  Mark  i.  1,  2. 


Book  ii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  GELSUS.  7 

which  shows  that  the  beginning  of  the  gospel  is  connected 
with  the  Jewish  writings.  What  force,  then,  is  there  in  the 
objection  of  the  Jew  of  Celsus,  tlint  "if  any  one  predicted 
to  us  that  the  Son  of  God  was  to  visit  mankind,  he  was  one  of 
our  prophets,  and  the  prophet  of  our  God  ?  "  Or  how  is  it  a 
charge  against  Christianity,  that  John,  who  baptized  Jesus,  was 
a  Jew  ?  For  although  He  was  a  Jew,  it  does  not  follow  that 
every  believer,  whether  a  convert  from  heathenism  or  from 
Judaism,  must  yield  a  literal  obedience  to  the  law  of  Moses. 

Chapter  v. 

After  these  matters,  although  Celsus  becomes  tautological  in 
his  statements  about  Jesus,  repeating  for  the  second  time  that 
"  he  was  punished  by  the  Jews  for  his  crimes,"  we  shall  not 
again  take  up  the  defence,  being  satisfied  with  what  we  have 
already  said.  But,  in  the  next  place,  as  this  Jew  of  his  dis- 
parages the  doctrine  regarding  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and 
the  divine  Judgment,  and  of  the  rewards  to  be  bestowed  upon 
the  just,  and  of  the  fire  which  is  to  devour  the  wicked,  as  being 
stale  ^  opinions,  and  thinks  that  he  will  overthrow  Christianity 
by  asserting  that  there  is  nothing  new  in  its  teaching  upon 
these  points,  we  have  to  say  to  him,  that  our  Lord,  seeing  the 
conduct  of  the  Jews  not  to  be  at  all  in  keeping  with  the  teaching 
of  the  prophets,  inculcated  by  a  parable  that  the  kingdom  of 
God  would  be  taken  from  them,  and  given  to  the  converts  from 
heathenism.  For  which  reason,  now,  we  may  also  see  of  a 
truth  that  all  the  doctrines  of  the  Jews  of  the  present  day  are 
mere  trifles  and  fables,^  since  they  have  not  the  light  that  pro- 
ceeds from  the  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  ;  whereas  those  of 
the  Christians  are  the  truth,  having  power  to  raise  and  elevate 
the  soul  and  understanding  of  man,  and  to  persuade  him  to 
seek  a  citizenship,  not  like  the  earthly  ^  Jews  here  below,  but  in 
heaven.  And  this  result  shows  itself  among  those  who  are  able 
to  see  the  grandeur  of  the  ideas  contained  in  the  law  and  the 
prophets,  and  who  are  able  to  commend  them  to  others. 

Chapter  vi. 
But  let  it  be  granted  that  Jesus  observed  all  the  Jewish 


8  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

usages,  including  even  their  sacrificial  observances,  what  does 
that  avail  to  prevent  our  recognising  Him  as  the  Son  of  God  ? 
Jesus,  then,  is  the  Son  of  God,  who  gave  the  law  and  the  pro- 
phets ;  and  we,  who  belong  to  the  church,  do  not  transgress  the 
law,  but  have  escaped  the  mythologizings  ^  of  the  Jews,  and 
have  our  minds  chastened  and  educated  by  the  mystical  con- 
templation of  the  law  and  the  prophets.  For  the  prophets 
themselves,  as  not  resting  the  sense  of  these  words  in  the  plain 
history  which  they  relate,  nor  in  the  legal  enactments  taken 
according  to  the  word  and  letter,  express  themselves  somewhere, 
when  about  to  relate  histories,  in  words  like  this,  "  I  will  open 
my  mouth  in  parables,  I  will  utter  hard  sayings  of  old ;  "  ^  and 
in  another  place,  when  offering  up  a  prayer  regarding  the  law 
as  being  obscure,  and  needing  divine  help  for  its  comprehension, 
they  offer  up  this  prayer,  "  Open  Thou  mine  eyes,  that  I  may 
behold  wondrous  things  out  of  Thy  law."  ^ 

Chapter  vii. 

Moreover,  let  them  show  where  there  is  to  be  found  even 
the  appearance  of  language  dictated  by  arrogance,*  and  pro- 
ceeding from  Jesus.  For  how  could  an  arrogant  man  thus 
express  himself,  "  Learn  of  me,  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  of 
heart,  and  you  shall  find  rest  for  your  souls  ?  "  ^  or  how  can 
He  be  styled  arrogant,  who  after  supper  laid  aside  His  garments 
in  the  presence  of  His  disciples,  and,  after  girding  Himself 
with  a  towel,  and  pouring  water  into  a  basin,  proceeded  to  wash 
the  feet  of  each  disciple,  and  rebuked  him  who  was  unwilling' 
to  allow  them  to  be  washed,  witli  the  words,  "  Except  I  wash 
thee,  thou  hast  no  part  with  me  ?  "  "^  Or  how  could  He  be 
called  such  who  said,  "  I  was  amongst  you,  not  as  he  that 
sitteth  at  meat,  but  as  he  that  serveth  ?  "  ^  And  let  any  one 
show  what  were  the  falsehoods  which  He  uttered,  and  let  him 
point  out  what  are  great  and  what  are  small  falsehoods,  that  he 
may  prove  Jesus  to  have  been  guilty  of  the  former.  And  there 
is  yet  another  way  in  which  we  may  confute  him.  For  as  one 
falsehood  is  not  less  or  more  false  than  another,  so  one  truth  \ 
is  not  less  or  more  true  than  another.     And  Avhat  charws  of 

o 
^  fivdoT^oyix;.  -  Ps.  Ixxvii.  2.  ^  Ps.  cxix.  18.  *  ecTicc^oviix. 

''  Matt.  xi.  L'9.  «  John  xvi.  4.  '  Luko  xxii.  27. 


Book  11.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  9 

impiety  he  has  to  brinor  against  Jesus,  let  the  Jew  of  Celsus 
especially  bring  forward.  Was  it  impious  to  abstain  from  cor- 
poreal circumcision,  and  from  a  literal  Sabbath,  and  literal 
festivals,  and  literal  new  moons,  and  from  clean  and  unclean 
meats,  and  to  turn  the  mind  to  the  good  and  true  and  spiritual 
law  of  God,  while  at  the  same  time  he  who  was  an  ambassador 
for  Christ  knew  how  to  become  to  the  Jews  as  a  Jew,  that  he 
might  gain  the  Jews,  and  to  those  who  are  under  the  law,  as 
under  the  law,  that  he  might  gain  those  who  are  under  the  law  ? 

Chapter  viii. 

He  says,  further,  that  "  many  other  persons  would  appear 
such  as  Jesus  was,  to  those  who  were  willing  to  be  deceived." 
Let  this  Jew  of  Celsus  then  show  us,  not  many  persons,  nor 
even  a  few,  but  a  single  individual,  such  as  Jesus  was,  intro- 
ducing among  the  human  race,  wath  the  power  that  was  mani- 
fested in  Him,  a  system  of  doctrine  and  opinions  beneficial  to 
human   life,   and  which  converts  men  from   the   practice   of 
wickedness.     He  says,  moreover,  that  this  charge  is  brought 
against  the  Jews  by  the  Christian  converts,  that  they  have  not 
believed  in  Jesus  as  in  God.     Now  on  this  point  we  have,  in 
the  preceding  pages,  offered  a  preliminary  defence,  showing  at 
the  same  time  in  what  respects  we  understand  Him  to  be  God, 
and  in  what  we  take  Him  to  be  man.     "  How  should  we,"  he 
continues,  ''  who  have  made  known  to  all  men  that  there  is  to 
come  from  God  one  who  is  to  punish  the  wicked,  treat  him  with 
disregard  when  he  came  1 "     And  to  this,  as  an  exceedingly 
silly  ai'gument,  it  does  not  seem  to  me  reasonable  to  offer  any 
answer.    It  is  as  if  some  one  were  to  say,  "  How  could  we,  who 
teach  temperance,  commit  any  act  of  licentiousness  ?    or  we, 
who  are  ambassadors  for  righteousness,  be  guilty  of  any  wicked- 
ness %  "     For  as  these  inconsistencies  are  found  among  men, 
so,  to  say  that  they  believed  the  prophets  when  speaking  of  the 
future  advent  of  Christ,  and  yet  refused  their  belief  to  Him 
when  He  came,  agreeably  to  prophetic  statement,  was  quite  in 
keeping  with  human  nature.     And  since  we  must  add  another 
reason,  we  shall  remark  that  this  very  result  was  foretold  by 
the  prophets.      Isaiah  distinctly  declares  :  "  Hearing  ye  shall 
hear,  and  shall  not  understand  ;  and  seeing  ye  shall  see,  and 


k 


10  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  n. 

shall  not  perceive  :  for  the  heart  of  this  people  has  become 
fat,"^  etc.  And  let  them  explain  why  it  was  predicted  to  the 
Jews,  that  although  they  both  heard  and  saw,  they  would 
not  understand  what  was  said,  nor  perceive  what  was  seen  as 
they  ought.  For  .it  is  indeed  manifest,  that  when  they  beheld 
Jesus  they  did  not  see  who  He  was ;  and  when  they  heard  Him, 
they  did  not  understand  from  His  words  the  divinity  that  was 
in  Him,  and  which  transferred  God's  providential  care,  hitherto 
exercised  over  the  Jews,  to  His  converts  fi'om  the  heathen. 
Therefore  we  may  see,  that  after  the  advent  of  Jesus  the  Jews 
were  altogether  abandoned,  and  possess  now  none  of  what 
were  considered  their  ancient  glories,  so  that  there  is  no  indi- 
cation of  any  Divinity  abiding  amongst  them.  For  they  have 
no  longer  prophets  nor  miracles,  traces  of  which  to  a  consider- 
able extent  are  still  found  among  Christians,  and  some  of  them 
more  remarkable  than  any  that  existed  among  the  Jews ;  and 
these  we  ourselves  have  witnessed,  if  our  testimony  may  be 
received.  But  the  Jew  of  Celsus  exclaims :  "  Why  did  we 
treat  him,  whom  we  announced  beforehand,  with  dishonour  ? 
Was  it  that  we  might  be  chastised  more  than  others  ?  "  To 
which  we  have  to  answer,  that  on  account  of  their  unbelief, 
and  the  other  insults  which  they  heaped  upon  Jesus,  the  Jews 
will  not  only  suffer  more  than  others  in  that  judgment  which 
is  believed  to  impend  over  the  world,  but  have  even  already 
endured  such  sufferings.  For  what  nation  is  an  exile  from 
their  own  metropolis,  and  from  the  place  sacred  to  the  worship 
of  their  fathers,  save  the  Jews  alone  ?  And  these  calamities 
they  have  suffered,  because  they  were  a  most  wicked  nation, 
which,  although  guilty  of  many  other  sins,  yet  has  been  punished 
so  seyerely  for  none,  as  for  those  that  were  committed  against 
our  Jesus. 

Chapter  ix. 

The  Jew  continues  his  discourse  thus  :  "  How  should  we 
deem  him  to  be  a  God,  who  not  only  in  other  respects,  as  was 
currently  reported,  performed  none  of  his  promises,  but  who  also, 
after  we  had  convicted  him,  and  condemned  him  as  deserving 
of  punishment,  was  found  attempting  to  conceal  himself,  and 

1  Isa.  vi.  9. 


Book  11.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  11 

endeavouring  to  escape  in  a  most  disgraceful  manner,  and  who 
was  betrayed  by  those  whom  he  called  disciples  ?  And  yet," 
he  continues,  "  he  who  was  a  God  could  neither  flee  nor  be 
led  away  a  prisoner ;  and  least  of  all  could  he  be  deserted  and 
delivered  up  by  those  who  had  been  his  associates,  and  had 
shared  all  things  in  common,  and  had  had  him  for  their  teacher, 
who  was  deemed  to  be  a  Saviour,  and  a  Son  of  the  greatest 
God,  and  an  angel."  To  which  we  reply,  that  even  we  do  not 
I  suppose  the  body  of  Jesus,  which  was  then  an  object  of  sight 
I  and  perception,  to  have  been  God.  And  why  do  I  say  His 
'  body  ?  Nay,  not  even  His  soul,  of  which  it  is  related,  "  My 
soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto  death." ^  But  as,  accord- 
ing to  the  Jewish  manner  of  speaking,  "  I  am  the  Lord,  the 
God  of  all  flesh,"  and,  "  Before  me  there  was  no  God  formed, 
neither  shall  there  be  after  me,"  God  is  believed  to  be  He 
who  employs  the  soul  and  body  of  the  prophet  as  an  instru- 
ment ;  and  as,  according  to  the  Greeks,  he  who  says, 

"  I  know  both  the  number  of  the  sand,  and  the  measures  of  the  sea, 
And  I  understand  a  dumb  man,  and  hear  him  who  does  not  speak,"  2 

is  considered  to  be  a  god  when  speaking,  and  making  himself 
heard  through  the  Pythian  priestess ;  so,  according  to  our  view, 
it  was  the  Logos  God,  and  Son  of  the  God  of  all  things,  who 
spake  in  Jesus  these  words,  ^'  I  am  the  way,  and  tlie  truth, 
and  the  life;"  and  these,  "I  am  the  door;"  and  these,  "lam 
the  living  bread  that  came  down  from  heaven ;"  and  other 
expressions  similar  to  these.  We  therefore  charge  the  Jews 
with  not  acknowledging  Him. to  be  God,  to  whom  testimony 
was  borne  in  many  passages  by  the  prophets,  to  the  effect  that 
He  was  a  niighty  power^  and  a  God  next  to®  the  God  and 

1  Matt.  xxvi.  38.  2  Herodot.  b.  i.  47. 

®  x-ul  Qsou  X.UTX.  rov  rZv  oXcdv  Qsov  aai  Trcnkpoc.  "  Ex  mente  Origenis, 
inquit  Boherellus,  vertendum  '  Secundo  post  universi  Deum  atque  paren- 
tem  loco  ;'  non  cum  interprete  Gelenio,  '  Ipsius  rerum  universarum  Dei 
atque  Parentis  testimonio.'  Nam  si  hie  esset  sensus,  frustra  post  iwo  ruu 
'TTpoi^riruv,  adderetur  xccrtx,  roi/  Qsov.  Prseterea,  hsec  epitheta,  rov  rZu  I'hav 
Qsov  xxl  Toiripx,  manifestam  continent  antithesin  ad  ista,  {^iyu.'hYiu  ovros. 
"^vudfiiv  accl  Qiov,  ut  Pater  supra  Fihum  evehatur,  quemadmodum  evehitur 
ab  Origene  infra  libro  octavo,  num.  15.  Toy,  xarce,  inferiorem  ordijiem 
denotantis  exempla  afferre  supersedeo,  cum  obvia  sint." — Eu^EUS. 


12  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  n. 

Father  of  all  things.  For  we  assert  that  it  was  to  Him  the 
Father  gave  the  command,  when  in  the  Mosaic  account  of  the 
creation  He  uttered  the  words,  "  Let  there  be  light,"  and 
"  Let  there  be  a  firmament,"  and  gave  the  injunctions  with 
regard  to  those  other  creative  acts  which  were  performed  ;  and 
that  to  Him  also  were  addressed  the  words,  "  Let  us  make 
man  in  our  own  image  and  likeness  ;"  and  that  the  Logos, 
Avhen  commanded,  obeyed  all  the  Father's  will.  And  we  make 
these  statements  not  from  our  own  conjectures,  but  because  we 
believe  the  prophecies  circulated  among  the  Jews,  in  which  it 
is  said  of  God,  and  of  the  works  of  creation,  in  express  words, 
as  follows :  "  He  spake,  and  they  were  made  ;  He  commanded, 
and  they  were  created."^  Now  if  God  gave  the  command,  and 
the  creatures  were  formed,  who,  according  to  the  view  of  the 
spirit  of  prophecy,  could  he  be  that  was  able  to  carry  out  such 
commands  of  the  Father,  save  Him  who,  so  to  speak,  is  the 
living  Logos  and  the  Truth?  And  that  the  Gospels  do  not 
consider  him  who  in  Jesus  said  these  words,  "  I  am  the  way, 
and  the  truth,  and  the  life,"  to  have  been  of  so  circumscribed 
a  nature,^  as  to  have  an  existence  nowhere  out  of  the  soul  and 
body  of  Jesus,  is  evident  both  from  many  considerations,  and 
from  a  few  instances  of  the  following  kind  which  we  shall 
quote.  John  the  Baptist,  when  predicting  that  the  Son  of  God 
was  to  appear  immediately,  not  in  that  body  and  soul,  but  as 
manifesting  Himself  everywhere,  says  regarding  Him  :  "  There 
stands  in  the  midst  of  you  One  whom  ye  know  not,  who  cometh 
after  me."  ^  For  if  he  had  thought  that  the  Son  of  God  was 
only  there,  where  was  the  visible  body  of  Jesus,  how  could  he 
have  said,  "  There  stands  in  the  midst  of  you  One  whom  ye 
know  not?"  And  Jesus  Himself,  in  raising  the  minds  of  His 
disciples  to  higher  thoughts  of  the  Son  of  God,  says  :  "  Where 
two  or  thi'ee  are  gathered  together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in 
the  midst  of  you."*  And  of  the  same  nature  is  His  promise  to 
His  disciples  :  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  to  the  end 
of  the  world."''  And  we  quote  these  passages,  making  no  dis- 
'  tinction  between  the  Son  of  God  and  Jesus.  For  the  soul  and 
body  of  Jesus  formed,  after  the  olKovofxia,  one  being  with  the 

^  Ps.  cxlviii.  5.  '  Tripiysypeiftfiivov  tivx.  "^  John  i.  26. 

*  Matt,  xviii.  20.  *  Matt,  xxviii.  20. 


Book  ii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  13 

Logos  of  God.  Now  if,  according  to  Paul's  teacliing,  "  lie 
that  is  joined  unto  the  Lord  is  one  spirit,"  ^  every  one  who 
understands  what  being  joined  to  the  Lord  is,  and  who  has  been 
actually  joined  to  Him,  is  one  spirit  with  the  Lord ;  how  should 
not  that  being  be  one  in  a  far  greater  and  more  divine  degree, 
which  was  once  united  with  the  Logos  of  God  ?  ^  He,  indeed, 
manifested  Himself  among  the  Jews  as  the  power  of  God,  by 
the  miracles  which  He  performed,  which  Celsus  suspected  were 
accomplished  by  sorcery,  but  which  by  the  Jews  of  that  time 
were  attributed,  I  know  not  why,  to  Beelzebub,  in  the  words  : 
"  He  casteth  out  devils  through  Beelzebub,  the  prince  of  the 
devils."  ^  But  these  our  Saviour  convicted  of  uttering  the 
greatest  absurdities,  from  the  fact  that  the  kingdom  of  evil  was 
not  yet  come  to  an  end.  And  this  will  be  evident  to  all  intelli- 
gent readers  of  the  Gospel  narrative,  which  it  is  not  now  the 
time  to  explain. 

CHxVrTER  X. 

But  what  promise  did  Jesus  make  which  He  did  not  per- 
form ?  Let  Celsus  produce  any  instance  of  such,  and  make 
good  his  charge.  But  he  will  be  unable  to  do  so,  especially 
since  it  is  from  mistakes,  arising  either  from  misapprehension 
of  the  Gospel  narratives,  or  from  Jewish  stories,  that  he 
thinks  to  derive  the  charges  which  lie  brings  against  Jesus  or 
against  ourselves.  Moreover,  again,  when  the  Jew  says,  "  We 
both  found  him  guilty,  and  condemned  him  as  deserving  of 
death,"  let  them  show  how  they  who  sought  to  concoct  false 
witness  against  Him  proved  Him  to  be  guilty.  Was  not  the 
great  charge  against  Jesus,  which  His  accusers  brought  for- 
ward, this,  that  He  said,  "  I  am  able  to  destroy  the  temple  of 
God,  and  after  three  days  to  raise  it  up  again?"*  But  in  so 
saying,  He  spake  of  the  temple  of  His  body ;  while  they  thought, 
not  being  able  to  understand  the  meaning  of  the  speaker,  that 

1  1  Cor.  vi.  16. 

^  it  ycip  Kcixoi  rvju  Tiaii'hov  Zt'^utTKct'Kiuv,  T^sycvro','  "  6  KoXKufiivoq  ru  KVpi'u, 
i'j  -TTVivfix  iarr  '  ■TiSj  6  voYjGt/,;  r/  to  x.o'K'Koi.aSa.t  tu  x.vpiu,  kccI  ko'KXyiSiIs  ecvra, 
i'j  iari  'jrvsi/fio,  ttooj  rou  avpiou'  tt^j  os)  ^joXAw  fixT^'Aov  6iiOTSpug  kxI  fcst^ovoig 
'iv  ijTt  TO  •s-CTS  (TvySiTOV  TTpo;  Tov  7\6yov  rou  ©501/  ; 

3  Matt.  xii.  2-i.  *  Matt.  xxvi.  61. 


14  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSVS.  [Book  n. 

His  reference  was  to  the  temple  of  stone,  wliicli  was  treated  by 
the  Jews  with  greater  respect  than  He  was  who  ought  to  have 
been  honoured  as  the  true  Temple  of  God — the  Word,  and  the 
Wisdom,  and  the  Truth.  And  who  can  say  that  "  Jesus 
attempted  to  make  His  escape  by  disgracefully  concealing 
Himself  ?  "  Let  any  one  point  to  an  act  deserving  to  be  called 
disgraceful.  And  when  he  adds,  "  he  was  taken  prisoner," 
I  would  say  that,  if  to  be  taken  prisoner  implies  an  act  done 
against  one's  will,  then  Jesus  was  not  taken  prisoner;  for  at 
the  fitting  time  He  did  not  prevent  Himself  falling  into  the 
hands  of  men,  as  the  Lamb  of  God,  that  He  might  take  away 
the  sin  of  the  world.  For,  knowing  all  things  that  were  to 
come  upon  Him,  He  went  forth,  and  said  to  them,  "  Whom 
seek  ye?  "  and  they  answered,  "  Jesus  of  Nazareth;"  and  He 
said  unto  them,  "  I  am  He."  And  Judas  also,  who  betrayed 
Him,  was  standing  with  them.  When,  therefore.  He  had  said 
to  them,  "  I  am  He,"  they  went  backwards  and  fell  to  the 
ground.  Again  He  asked  them,  "  Whom  seek  ye  ?  "  and  they 
said  again,  "  Jesus  of  Nazareth."  Jesus  said  to  them,  "  I  told 
you  I  am  He;  if  then  ye  seek  me,  let  these  go  away."  ^  Nay, 
even  to  him  who  wished  to  help  Him,  and  who  smote  the  high 
priest's  servant,  and  cut  off  his  ear.  He  said :  "  Put  up  thy 
sword  into  its  sheath :  for  all  they  who  draw  the  sword  shall 
perish  by  the  sword.  Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  even  now 
pray  to  my  Father,  and  He  will  presently  give  me  more  than 
twelve  legions  of  angels  ?  But  how  then  should  the  Scriptures 
be  fulfilled,  that  thus  it  must  be  ?  "  ^  And  if  any  one  imagines 
these  statements  to  be  inventions  of  the  writers  of  the  Gospels, 
why  should  not  those  statements  rather  be  regarded  as  inven- 
tions which  proceeded  from  a  spirit  of  hatred  and  hostility 
against  Jesus  and  the  Christians  ?  and  these  the  truth,  which 
proceed  from  those  who  manifest  the  sincerity  of  their  feelings 
towards  Jesus,  by  enduring  everything,  whatever  it  may  be,  for 
the  sake  of  His  words  ?  For  the  reception  by  the  disciples  of 
such  power  of  endurance  and  resolution  continued  even  to  death, 
with  a  disposition  of  mind  that  would  not  invent  regarding  their 
Teacher  Avhat  was  not  true,  is  a  very  evident  proof  to  all  candid 
judges  that  they  were  fully  persuaded  of  the  truth  of  what  they 
*  John  xviii.  4  sqq.  ^  Matt.  xxvi.  52-54. 


Book  ii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  15 

wrote,  seeing  they  submitted  to  trials  so  numerous  and  so  severe, 
for  the  sake  of  liim  whom  they  behoved  to  be  the  Son  of  God. 

Chapter  xi. 

In  the  next  place,  that  He  was  betrayed  by  those  whom  He 
called  His  disciples,  is  a  circumstance  which  the  Jew  of  Celsus 
learned  from  the  Gospels  ;  calling  the  one  Judas,  however, 
"  many  disciples,"  that  he  might  seem  to  add  force  to  the  accu- 
sation. Nor  did  he  trouble  himself  to  take  note  of  all  that  is 
related  concerning  Judas ;  how  this  Judas,  having  come  to 
entertain  opposite  and  conflicting  opinions  regarding  his  Master, 
neither  opposed  Him  with  his  whole  soul,  nor  yet  with  his 
whole  soul  preserved  the  respect  due  by  a  pupil  to  his  teacher. 
For  he  that  betrayed  Him  gave  to  the  multitude  that  came  to 
apprehend  Jesus,  a  sign,  saying,  "  Whomsoever  I  shall  kiss,  it 
is  he ;  seize  ye  him," — retaining  still  some  element  of  respect  for  , 
his  Master:  for  unless  he  had  done  so,  he  would  have  betrayed^ 
Him,  even  publicly,  without  any  pretence  of  affection.  This 
circumstance,  therefore,  will  satisfy  all  with  regard  to  the  pur- 
pose of  Judas,  that  along  with  his  covetous  disposition,  and  his 
wicked  design  to  betray  his  Master,  he  had  still  a  feeling  of  a 
mixed  character  in  his  mind,  produced  in  him  by  the  words  of  / 
Jesus,  which  had  the  appearance  (so  to  speak)  of  some  remnant  ^ 
of  good.  For  it  is  related  that,  "  when  Judas,  who  betrayed 
Him,  knew  that  He  was  condemned,  he  repented,  and  brought 
back  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  to  the  high  priest  and  elders, 
saying,  I  have  sinned,  in  that  I  have  betrayed  the  innocent 
blood.  But  they  said.  What  is  that  to  us?  see  thou  to  that;"^ 
— and  that,  having  thrown  the  money  down  in  the  temple,  he 
departed,  and  went  and  hanged  himself.  But  if  this  covetous 
Judas,  who  also  stole  the  money  placed  in  the  bag  for  the  relief 
of  the  poor,  repented,  and  brought  back  the  thirty  pieces  of 
silver  to  the  chief  priests  and  elders,  it  is  clear  that  the  instruc- 
tions of  Jesus  had  been  able  to  produce  some  feeling  of  repent- 
ance in  his  mind,  and  were  not  altogether  despised  and  loathed 
by  this  traitor.  Nay,  the  declaration,  "  I  have  sinned,  in  that 
I  have  betrayed  the  innocent  blood,"  was  a  public  acknowledg- 
ment of  his  crime.    Observe,  also,  how  exceedingly  passionate^ 

^  Matt,  xxvii.  3-5.  ^  otairvpog  k»\  aipo^px. 


16  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

was  the  sorrow  for  his  sins  that  proceeded  from  tliat  repentance, 
and  which  would  not  suffer  him  any  longer  to  hve  ;  and  how, 
after  he  had  cast  the  money  down  in  the  temple,  he  withdrew, 
and  went  away  and  hanged  himself :  for  he  passed  sentence  upon 
himself,  showing  what  a  power  the  teaching  of  Jesus  had  over 
this  sinner  Judas,  this  thief  and  traitor,  who  could  not  always 
treat  with  contempt  what  he  had  learned  from  Jesus.     Will 
Celsus  and  his  friends  now  say  that  those  proofs  which  show 
that  the  apostasy  of  Judas  was  not  a  complete  apostasy,  even 
after  his  attempts  against  his  Master,  are  inventions,  and  that 
this  alone  is  true,  viz.  that  one  of  His  disciples  betrayed  Him  ; 
and  will  they  add  to  the  scriptural  account  that  he  betrayed 
Him  also  with  his  whole  heart  ?    To  act  in  this  spirit  of  hostility 
with  the  same  writings,  both  as  to  what  we  are  to  believe  and 
what  we  are  not  to  believe,  is  absurd.^     And  if  we  must  make 
a  statement  regarding  Judas  which  may  overwhelm  our  oppo- 
nents with  shame,  we  would  say  that,  in  the  book  of  Psalms, 
p(  the  whole  of  the  108th  contains  a  prophecy  about  Judas,  the 
beginning  of  which  is  this  :  "  O  God,  hold  not  Thy  peace  be- 
fore my  praise ;  for  the  mouth  of  the  sinner,  and  the  mouth  of 
the  crafty  man,  are  opened  against  me."  ^      And  it  is  predicted 
in  this  psalm,  both  that  Judas  separated  himself  from  the  num- 
ber of  the  apostles  on  account  of  his  sins,  and  that  another  was 
selected  in  his  place ;  and  this  is  shown  by  the  words  :  "  And 
his  bishopric  let  another  take."  ^     But  suppose  now  that  He 
had  been  betrayed  by  some  one  of  His  disciples,  who  was 
possessed  by  a  w^orse  spirit  than  Judas,  and  who  had  completely 
poured  out,  as  it  were,  all  the  words  which  he  had  heard  from 
Jesus,  what  would  this  contribute  to   an  accusation  against 
Jesus  or  the  Christian  religion?     And  how  will  this  demon- 
strate its  doctrine  to  be  false?     We  have  replied  in  the  preced- 
ing chapter  to  the  statements  which  follow  this,  showing  that 
Jesus  was  not  taken  prisoner  when  attempting  to  flee,  but  that 
He  gave  Ilimself  up  voluntarily  for  the  sake  of  us  all.    Whence 
it  follows,  that  even  if  He  were  bound.  He  was  bound  agree- 
ably to  His  own  will ;  thus  teaching  us  the  lesson  that  we  should 
undertake  similar  things  for  the  sake  of  religion  in  no  spirit  of 
unwillingness. 

A  d'Ttiddvou.  2  ps.  cix.  1,  2.  3  Vs.  cix.  8. 


Book  ii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  17 


Chapter  xir. 

And  the  folloAving  appear  to  me  to  be  childish  assertions,  viz. 
tliat  "  no  good  general  and  leader  of  great  multitudes  was  ever 
betrayed  ;  nor  even  a  wicked  captain  of  robbers  and  commander 
of  very  wicked  men,  who  seemed  to  be  of  any  use  to  his  asso- 
ciates ;  but  Jesus,  having  been  betrayed  by  his  subordinates, 
neither  governed  like  a  good  general,  nor,  after  deceiving  his 
disciples,  produced  in  the  minds  of  the  victims  of  his  deceit 
that  feeling  of  good-will  which,  so  to  speak,  would  be  mani- 
fested towards  a  brigand  chief."  Now  one  might  find  many 
accounts  of  generals  who  were  betrayed  by  their  own  soldiers, 
and  of  robber  chiefs  who  Avere  captured  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  those  who  did  not  keep  their  bargains  with  them. 
But  grant  that  no  general  or  robber  chief  was  ever  betrayed, 
what  does  that  contribute  to  the  establishment  of  the  fact  as  a 
charge  against  Jesus,  that  one  of  His  disciples  became  His  be- 
trayer ?  And  since  Celsus  makes  an  ostentatious  exhibition  of 
philosophy,  I  would  ask  of  him.  If,  then,  it  was  a  charge  against 
Plato,  that  Aristotle,  after  being  his  pupil  for  twenty  years, 
went  away  and  assailed  his  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of  the 
_soul,  and  styled  the  ideas  of  Plato  the  merest  trifling?^  And 
if  I  were  still  in  doubt,  I  would  continue  thus :  Was  Plato  no 
longer  mighty  in  dialectics,  nor  able  to  defend  his  views,  after 
Aristotle  had  taken  his  departure ;  and,  on  that  account,  are  the 
opinions  of  Plato  false  ?  Or  may  it  not  be,  that  while  Plato 
is  true,  as  the  pupils  of  his  philosophy  would  maintain,  Aristotle 
was  guilty  of  wickedness  and  ingratitude  towards  his  teacher  ? 
Nay,  Chrysippus  also,  in  many  places  of  his  writings,  appears 
to  assail  Cleanthes,  introducing  novel  opinions  opposed  to  his 
views,  although  the  latter  had  been  his  teacher  when  he  was  a 
young  man,  and  began  the  study  of  philosophy.  Aristotle, 
indeed,  is  said  to  have  been  Plato's  pupil  for  twenty  years,  and 
no  inconsiderable  period  was  spent  by  Chrysippus  in  the  school 
of  Cleanthes  ;  while  Judas  did  not  remain  so  much  as  three 
years  with  Jesus.  But  from  the  narratives  of  the  lives  of 
philosophers  we  might  take  many  instances  similar  to  those  on 
which   Celsus  founds  a  charge   against  Jesus  on  account  of 

^   TipiTldfiCiTX, 

ORIG. — VOL.  II.  B 


V 


18  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

Judas.  Even  the  Pythagoreans  erected  cenotaphs^  to  those 
who,  after  betaking  themselves  to  philosophy,  fell  back  again 
into  their  ignorant  mode  of  life ;  and  yet  neither  was  Pythagoras 
nor  his  followers,  on  that  account,  weak  in  argument  and  de- 
monstration. 

Chapter  xiii. 

This  Jew  of  Celsus  continues,  after  the  above,  in  the  follow- 
ing fashion  :  "  Although  he  could  state  many  things  regarding 
the  events  of  the  life  of  Jesus  which  are  true,  and  not  like  those 
which  are  recorded  by  the  disciples,  he  willingly  omits  them." 
What,  then,  are  those  true  statements,  unlike  the  accounts  in 
the  Gospels,  which  the  Jew  of  Celsus  passes  by  without  men- 
tion ?  Or  is  he  only  employing  what  appears  to  be  a  figure  of 
speech,^  in  pretending  to  have  something  to  say,  while  in  reality 
he  had  nothing  to  produce  beyond  the  Gospel  narrative  which 
could  impress  the  hearer  with  a  feeling  of  its  truth,  and  furnish 
a  clear  ground  of  accusation  against  Jesus  and  His  doctrine  ? 
And  he  charges  the  disciples  with  having  invented  the  state- 
ment that  Jesus  foreknew  and  foretold  all  that  happened  to 
Him;  but  the  truth  of  this  statement  we  shall  establish,  although 
Celsus  may  not  like  it,  by  means  of  many  other  predictions 
uttered  by  the  Saviour,  in  which  He  foretold  what  would  befall 
the  Christians  in  after  generations.  And  who  is  there  who 
would  not  be  astonished  at  this  prediction :  "  Ye  shall  be 
brought  before  governors  and  kings  for  my  sake,  for  a  testi- 
mony against  them  and  the  Gentiles  ;"^  and  at  any  others  which 
He  may  have  delivered  respecting  the  future  persecution  of  His 
disciples  ?  For  what  system  of  opinions  ever  existed  among 
men  on  account  of  which  others  are  punished,  so  that  any. 
one  of  the  accusers  of  Jesus  could  say  that,  foreseeing  the 
impiety  or  falsity  of  his  opinions  to  be  the  ground  of  an  accu- 
sation against  them,  he  thought  that  this  would  redound  to  his 
credit,  that  he  had  so  predicted  regarding  it  long  before  ?  Now 
if  any  deserve  to  be  brought,  on  account  of  their  opinions, 
before  governors  and  kings,  what  others  are  they,  save  the 
Epicureans,  who  altogether  deny  the  existence  of  providence  ? 

^  Cf.  Clem.  Alex.  Strom,  v.  c.  ix. 

^  "ooKova^  Oii'jOTfni  firiropix.fl.  ^  Matt.  X.  18. 


Book  ii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  19 

And  also  the  Peripatetics,  who  say  that  prayers  arc  of  no 
avail,  and  sacrifices  offered  as  to  the  Divinity  ?  But  some  one 
will  say  that  the  Samaritans  suffer  persecution  because  of  their 
religion.  In  answer  to  whom  we  shall  state  that  the  Sicarians,* 
on  account  of  the  practice  of  circumcision,  as  mutilating  them- 
selves contrary  to  the  established  laws  and  the  customs  per- 
mitted to  the  Jews  alone,  are  put  to  death.  And  you  never 
hear  a  jvidge  inquiring  whether  a  Sicarian  who  strives  to  live 
accordino;  to  this  established  religion  of  his  will  be  released 
from  punishment  if  he  apostatizes,  but  will  be  led  away  to 
death  if  he  continues  firm;  for  the  evidence  of  the  circum- 
cision is  sufficient  to  ensure  the  death  of  him  who  has  under- 
gone it.  But  Christians  alone,  according  to  the  prediction  of 
their  Saviour,  "  Ye  shall  be  brought  before  governors  and  kings 
for  my  sake,"  are  urged  up  to  their  last  breath  by  their  judges 
to  deny  Christianity,  and  to  sacrifice  according  to  the  public 
customs ;  and  after  the  oath  of  abjuration,  to  return  to  their 
homes,  and  to  live  in  safety.  And  observe  whether  it  is  not 
with  great  authority  that  this  declaration  is  uttered  :  "  Whoso- 
ever therefore  shall  confess  me  before  men^  liim  will  I  confess 
also  before  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  And  whosoever  shall 
deny  me  before  men,"  ^  etc.  And  go  back  with  me  in  thought 
to  Jesus  when  He  uttered  these  words,  and  see  His  predictions 
not  yet  accomplished.  Perhaps  you  will  say,  in  a  spirit  of 
incredulity,  that  he  is  talking  folly,  and  speaking  to  no  purpose, 
for  his  words  will  have  no  fulfilment ;  or,  being  in  doubt  about 
assenting  to  his  words,  you  will  say,  that  if  these  predictions 
be  fulfilled,  and  the  doctrine  of  Jesus  be  established,  so  that 
governors  and  kings  think  of  destroying  those  wdio  acknowledge 
Jesus,  then  we  shall  believe  that  he  utters  these  prophecies  as 
one  who  has  received  great  power  from  God  to  implant  this  doc- 
trine among  the  human  race,  and  as  believing  that  it  will  prevail. 
And  who  will  not  be  filled  with  wonder,  when  he  goes  back  in. 
thought  to  Him  who  then  taught  and  said,  "  This  gospel  shall 
be  preached  throughout  the  whole  world,  for  a  testimony  against 

^  Modestinus,  lib.  vi.  Eegitlariim,  ad  legem  Cornellam  de  Sicariis:  "  Cir- 
cumciJere  filios  suos  Jucljeis  tautum  rescripto  divi  Pii  permittitiu" :  in  non 
ejusdcui  religionis  qui  hoc  fecerit,  castrantis  poena  irrogatur." 

2  Matt.  X.  18. 


20  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

them  and  the  Gentiles,"  and  beholds,  agreeably  to  His  words, 
the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  preached  in  the  whole  world  under 
heaven  to  Greeks  and  barbarians,  wise  and  foolish  alike  ?  For 
the  word,  spoken  with  power,  has  gained  the  mastery  over  men 
of  all  sorts  of  nature,  and  it  is  impossible  to  see  any  race  of 
men  which  has  escaped  accepting  the  teaching  of  Jesus.  But 
let  this  Jew  of  Celsus,  who  does  not  believe  that  He  foreknew 
all  that  happened  to  Him,  consider  how,  while  Jerusalem  was 
still  standing,  and  the  whole  Jewish  worship  celebrated  in  it, 
Jesus  foretold  what  would  befall  it  from  the  hand  of  the 
Komans.  For  they  will  not  maintain  that  the  acquaintances 
and  pupils  of  Jesus  Himself  handed  down  His  teaching  con- 
tained in  the  Gospels  without  committing  it  to  writing,  and 
left  His  disciples  without  the  memoirs  of  Jesus  contained  in 
their  works.  Now  in  these  it  is  recorded,  that  "  when  ye  shall 
see  Jerusalem  compassed  about  with  armies,  then  shall  ye  know 
that  the  desolation  thereof  is  nigh."  ^  But  at  that  time  there 
were  no  armies  around  Jerusalem,  encompassing  and  enclosing 
and  besieging  it ;  for  the  siege  began  in  the  reign  of  Nero, 
and  lasted  till  the  government  of  Vespasian,  whose  son  Titus 
destroyed  Jerusalem,  on  account,  as  Josephus  says,  of  James 
the  Just,  the  brother  of  Jesus  who  was  called  Christ,  but  in 
reality,  as  the  truth  makes  clear,  on  account  of  Jesus  Christ 
the  Son  of  God. 

Chapter  xiv. 

Celsus,  however,  accepting  or  granting  that  Jesus  foreknew 
what  would  befall  Him,  might  think  to  make  light  of  the  ad- 
mission, as  he  did  in  the  case  of  the  miracles,  when  he  alleged 
that  they  were  wrought  by  means  of  sorcery ;  for  he  might  say 
that  many  persons  by  means  of  divination,  either  by  auspices, 
or  auguries,  or  sacrifices,  or  nativities,  have  come  to  the  know- 
ledge of  what  was  to  happen.  But  this  concession  he  would 
not  make,  as  being  too  great  a  one ;  and  although  he  somehow 
granted  that  Jesus  worked  miracles,  he  thought  to  weaken  the 
force  of  this  by  the  charge  of  sorcery.  Now  Phlegon,  in  the 
thirteenth  or  fourteenth  book,  I  think,  of  his  Chronicles,  not 
only  ascribed  to  Jesus  a  knowledge  of  future  events  (although 
J  Matt.  xxiv.  14. 


Book  II.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  21 

falling  into  confusion  about  some  things  which  refer  to  Peter, 
as  if  they  referred  to  Jesus),  but  also  testified  that  the  result 
corresponded  to  His  predictions.  So  that  he  also,  by  these 
very  admissions  regarding  foreknowledge,  as  if  against  his 
will,  expressed  his  opinion  that  the  doctrines  taught  by  the 
fathers  of  our  system  were  not  devoid  of  divine  power. 

Chapter  xv. 

Celsus  continues  :  "  The  disciples  of  Jesus,  having  no  un- 
doubted fact  on  which  to  rely,  devised  the  fiction  that  he 
foreknew  everything  before  it  happened;"  not  observing,  or 
not  wishing  to  observe,  the  love  of  truth  which  actuated  the 
writers,  who  acknowledged  that  Jesus  had  told  His  disciples 
beforehand,  "  All  ye  shall  be  offended  because  of  me  this 
night,"  —  a  statement  which  was  fulfilled  by  their  all  being 
offended ;  and  that  He  predicted  to  Peter,  "  Before  the  cock 
crow,  thou  shalt  deny  me  thrice,"  which  was  followed  by  ' 
Peter's  threefold  denial.  Now  if  they  had  not  been  lovers  of  \^ 
truth,  but,  as  Celsus  supposes,  inventors  of  fictions,  they  would  /' 

not  have  represented  Peter  as  denying,  nor  His  disciples  as 
being  offended.  For  although  these  events  actually  happened, 
who  could  have  proved  that  they  turned  out  in  that  manner  ? 
And  yet,  according  to  all  probability,  these  were  matters  which 
ought  to  have  been  passed  over  in  silence  by  men  who  wished 
to  teach  the  readers  of  the  Gospels  to  despise  death  for  the  sake 
of  confessing  Christianity.  But  now,  seeing  that  the  word,  by 
its  power,  will  gain  the  mastery  over  men,  they  related  those 
facts  which  they  have  done,  and  which,  I  know  not  how,  were 
neither  to  do  any  harm  to  their  readers,  nor  to  afford  any  pre- 
text for  denial.    , 

Chapter  xvi. 

Exceedingly  weak  is  his  assertion,  that  "  the  disciples  of 
Jesus  wrote  such  accounts  regarding  him,  by  way  of  extenuat- 
ing the  charges  that  told  against  him :  as  if,"  he  says,  "  any 
one  were  to  say  that  a  certain  person  was  a  just  man,  and  yet 
were  to  show  that  he  was  guilty  of  injustice ;  or  that  he  was 
pious,  and  yet  had  committed  murder;  or  that  he  was  im- 
mortal, and  yet  was  dead ;  subjoining  to  all  these  statements 


22  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

the  remark  that  he  had  foretold  all  these  things."  Now  his 
illustrations  are  at  once  seen  to  be  inappropriate ;  for  there  is 
no  absurdity  in  Him  who  had  resolved  that  He  would  become 
a  living  pattern  to  men,  as  to  the  manner  in  which  they  were 
to  regulate  their  lives,  showing  also  how  they  ought  to  die  for 
the  sake  of  their  religion,  apart  altogether  from  the  fact  that  His 
death  on  behalf  of  men  was  a  benefit  to  the  whole  world,  as  we 
proved  in  the  preceding  book.  He  imagines,  moreover,  that 
the  whole  of  the  confession  of  the  Saviour's  sufferings  confirms 
his  objection  instead  of  weakening  it.  For  he  is  not  acquainted 
either  with  the  philosophical  remarks  of  Paul,^  or  the  state- 
ments of  the  prophets,  on  this  subject.  And  it  escaped  him 
that  certain  heretics  have  declared  that  Jesus  underwent  His 
sufferings  in  appearance,  not  in  reality.  For  had  he  known, 
he  would  not  have  said  :  "  For  ye  do  not  even  allege  this,  that 
he  seemed  to  wicked  men  to  suffer  this  punishment,  though 
not  undergoing  it  in  reality ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  ye  acknow- 
ledge that  he  openly  suffered."  But  we  do  not  view  His  suf- 
ferings as  having  been  merely  in  appearance,  in  order  that  His 
resurrection  also  may  not  be  a  false,  but  a  real  event.  For  he 
who  really  died,  actually  arose,  if  he  did  arise ;  whereas  he 
who  appeared  only  to  have  died,  did  not  in  reality  arise.  But 
since  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  is  a  subject  of  mockery 
to  unbelievers,  we  shall  quote  the  words  of  Plato,^  that  Herus 
the  son  of  Armenius  rose  from  the  funeral  pile  twelve  days 
after  he  had  been  laid  upon  it,  and  gave  an  account  of  what 
he  had  seen  in  Hades ;  and  as  we  are  replying  to  unbelievers, 
it  will  not  be  altogether  useless  to  refer  in  this  place  to  what 
Heraclides  ^  relates  respecting  the  woman  who  was  deprived  of 
life.  And  many  persons  are  recorded  to  have  risen  from  their 
tombs,  not  only  on  the  day  of  their  burial,  but  also  on  the  day 
following.  What  wonder  is  it,  then,  if  in  the  case  of  one  who 
performed  many  marvellous  things,  both  beyond  the  power  of 
man  and  with  such  fulness  of  evidence,  that  he  Avho  could  not 
deny  their  performance,  endeavoured  to  calumniate  them  by 
comparing  them  to  acts  of  sorcery,  should  have  manifested  also 
in  His  death  some  greater  display  of  divine  power,  so  that  His 

2  Cf,  Plato,  de  Rep.  x.         "  '      ^  cf.  Plin.  Nat.  Hist.  vii.  c.  52. 


Book  II.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSVS.  23 

soul,  if  it  pleased,  might  leave  its  body,  and  having  performed 
certain  offices  out  of  it,  might  return  again  at  pleasure  ?  And 
such  a  declaration  is  Jesus  said  to  have  made  in  the  Gospel  of 
John,  when  He  said  :  "  No  man  taketh  my  life  from  me,  but 
I  lay  it  down  of  myself.  I  have  power  to  lay  it  down,  and  I 
have  power  to  take  it  again." ^  And  perhaps  it  was  on  this 
account  that  He  hastened  His  departure  from  the  body,  that 
He  might  preserve  it,  and  that  His  legs  might  not  be  broken, 
as  were  those  of  the  robbers  who  were  crucified  with  Him. 
"  For  the  soldiers  broke  the  legs  of  the  first,  and  of  the  other 
who  was  crucified  with  Him ;  but  when  they  came  to  Jesus, 
and  saw  that  He  was  dead,  they  brake  not  His  legs."  ^  AYe 
have  accordingly  answered  the  question,  "  How  is  it  credible 
that  Jesus  could  have  predicted  these  things  ? "  And  with 
respect  to  this,  "How  could  the  dead  man  be  immortal?" 
let  him  who  wishes  to  understand  know,  that  it  is  not  the 
dead  man  who  is  immortal,  but  He  who  rose  from  the  dead. 
So  far,  indeed,  was  the  dead  man  from  being  immortal,  that 
even  the  Jesus  before  His  decease — the  compound  being,  who 
was  to  suffer  death — was  not  immortal.^  For  no  one  is  im- 
mortal who  is  destined  to  die;  but  he  is  immortal  when  he 
shall  no  longer  be  subject  to  death.  But  "  Christ,  being  raised 
from  the  dead,  dieth  no  more :  death  hath  no  more  dominion 
over  Him;"*  although  those  may  be  unwilling  to  admit  this 
who  cannot  understand  how  such  thin£i;s  should  be  said. 

Chapter  xvii. 

Extremely  foolish  also  is  his  remark,  "  What  God,  or  spirit, 
or  prudent  man  would  not,  on  foreseeing  that  such  events  were 
to  befall  him,  avoid  them  if  he  could ;  whereas  he  threw  him- 
self headlong  into  those  things  which  he  knew  beforehand  were 
to  happen  ?  "  And  yet  Socrates  knew  that  he  would  die  after 
drinking  the  hemlock,  and  it  was  in  his  power,  if  he  had 
allowed  himself  to  be  persuaded  by  Crito,  by  escaping  from 
prison,  to  avoid  these  calamities ;  but  nevertheless  he  decided, 

1  John  X.  18.  2  joiin  xix.  52. 

®  Oil  i^ovov  ovv  oii^,  6  vsKpo;  xSKvaro;,  ciXA'  oiio'  6  -Trpo  rw  vsxpoii  'I'/jaov;  6 

■*  Eom.  vi.  9. 


2i  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

as  it  appeared  to  him  consistent  with  right  reason,  that  it  was 
better  for  him  to  die  as  became  a  philosopher,  than  to  retain  his 
life  in  a  manner  unbecoming  one.  Leonidas  also,  the  Lace- 
demonian general,  knowing  that  he  was  on  the  point  of  dying 
with  his  followers  at  Thermopyla3,  did  not  make  any  effort 
to  preserve  his  life  by  disgraceful  means,  but  said  to  his  com- 
panions, "  Let  us  go  to  breakfast,  as  we  shall  sup  in  Hades." 
And  those  who  are  interested  in  collecting  stories  of  this  kind, 
will  find  numbers  of  them.  Now,  where  is  the  wonder  if 
Jesus,  knowing  all  things  that  were  to  happen,  did  not  avoid 
them,  but  encountered  what  He  foreknew ;  when  Paul,  His 
own  disciple,  having  heard  what  would  befall  him  when  he 
went  up  to  Jerusalem,  proceeded  to  face  the  danger,  reproach- 
ing those  who  were  weeping  around  him,  and  endeavouring  to 
prevent  him  from  going  up  to  Jerusalem  ?  Many  also  of  our 
contemporaries,  knowing  well  that  if  they  made  a  confession 
of  Christianity  they  would  be  put  to  death,  but  that  if  they 
denied  it  they  would  be  liberated,  and  their  property  restored, 
despised  life,  and  voluntarily  selected  death  for  the  sake  of 
their  religion. 

Chapter  xviii. 

After  this  the  Jew  makes  another  silly  remark,  saying, 
^'  How  is  it  that,  if  Jesus  pointed  out  beforehand  both  the 
traitor  and  the  perjurer,  they  did  not  fear  him  as  a  God,  and 
cease,  the  one  from  his  intended  treason,  and  the  other  from 
his  perjury  ?  "  Here  the  learned  Celsus  did  not  see  the  con- 
tradiction in  his  statement :  for  if  Jesus  foreknew  events  as  a 
God,  then  it  was  impossible  for  His  foreknowledge  to  prove 
untrue ;  and  therefore  it  was  impossible  for  him  who  was 
known  to  Him  as  going  to  betray  Him  not  to  execute  his 
purpose,  nor  for  him  who  was  rebuked  as  going  to  deny  Him 
not  to  have  been  guilty  of  that  crime.  For  if  it  had  beeu 
possible  for  the  one  to  abstain  from  the  act  of  betrayal,  and 
the  other  from  that  of  denial,  as  having  been  warned  of  the 
consequences  of  these  actions  beforehand,  then  His  words  were 
no  longer  true,  who  predicted  that  the  one  would  betray  Him 
and  the  other  deny  Him.  For  if  He  had  foreknowledge  of 
the  traitor.   He  knew   the  wickedness   in   which   the  treason 


Book  ii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  25 

originated,  and  this  wickedness  was  by  no  means  taken  away 
by  the  foreknowledge.  And,  again,  if  He  had  ascertained 
that  one  would  deny  Him,  He  made  that  prediction  from 
seeinff  the  weakness  out  of  which  that  act  of  denial  would 
arise,  and  yet  this  weakness  was  not  to  be  taken  away  thus 
at  once^  by  the  foreknowledge.  But  whence  he  derived  the 
statement,  "  that  these  persons  betrayed  and  denied  him  with- 
out manifesting  any  concern  about  him,"  I  know  not ;  for  it 
was  proved,  with  respect  to  the  traitor,  that  it  is  false  to  say 
that  he  betrayed  his  master  without  an  exiiibition  of  anxiety 
regarding  Him.  And  this  was  shown  to  be  equally  true  of 
him  who  denied  Him  ;  for  he  went  out,  after  the  denial,  and 
■wept  bitterly. 

Chapter  xix. 
Superficial  also  is  his  objection,  that  "  it  is  always  the  case 
when  a  man  against  whom  a  plot  is  formed,  and  who  comes 
to  the  knowledge  of  it,  makes  known  to  the  conspirators  that 
he  is  acquainted  with  their  design,  that  the  latter  are  turned 
from  their  purpose,  and  keep  upon  their  guard."  For  many 
have  continued  to  plot  even  against  those  who  were  acquainted 
with  their  plans.  And  then,  as  if  bringing  his  argument  to  a 
conclusion,  he  says :  "  Not  because  these  things  were  predicted 
did  they  come  to  pass,  for  that  is  impossible  ;  but  since  they 
have  come  to  pass,  their  being  predicted  is  shown  to  be  a 
falsehood  :  for  it  is  altogether  impossible  that  those  who  heard 
beforehand  of  the  discovery  of  their  designs,  should  carry  out 
their  plans  of  betrayal  and  denial ! "  But  if  his  premisses  are 
overthrown,  then  his  conclusion  also  falls  to  the  ground,  viz. 
'■'  that  we  are  not  to  believe,  because  these  things  were  predicted, 
that  they  have  come  to  pass."  Now  we  maintain  that  they  not 
only  came  to  pass  as  being  possible,  but  also  that,  because  they 
came  to  pass,  the  fact  of  their  being  predicted  is  shown  to  be 
true ;  for  the  truth  regarding  future  events  is  judged  of  by 
results.  It  is  false,  therefore,  as  asserted  by  him,  that  the  pre- 
diction of  these  events  is  proved  to  be  untrue  ;  and  it  is  to  no 
purpose  that  he  says,  "  It  is  altogether  impossible  for  those  who 
heard  beforehand  that  their  designs  were  discovered,  to  carry 
out  their  plans  of  betrayal  and  denial." 


26  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Bookii. 

Chapter  xx. 
Let  us  see  how  he  continues  after  this :  "  These  events,"  he 
says,  "  he  predicted  as  being  a  God,  and  the  prediction  must 
by  all  means  come  to  pass.  God,  therefore,  who  above  all 
others  ought  to  do  good  to  men,  and  especially  to  those  of 
his  own  household,  led  on  his  own  disciples  and  prophets, 
with  whom  he  was  in  the  habit  of  eating  and  drinking,  to 
such  a  degree  of  wickedness,  that  they  became  impious  and 
unholy  men.  Now,  of  a  truth,  he  who  shared  a  man's  table 
would  not  be  guilty  of  conspiring  against  him ;  but  after  ban- 
queting with  God,  he  became  a  conspirator.  And,  what  is  still 
more  absurd,  God  himself  plotted  against  the  members  of  his 
own  table,  by  converting  them  into  traitors  and  villains ! " 
Now,  since  you  wish  me  to  answer  even  those  charges  of 
Celsus  which  seem  to  me  frivolous,^  the  following  is  our 
reply  to  such  statements.  Celsus  imagines  that  an  event,  pre- 
dicted through  foreknowledge,  comes  to  pass  because  it  was 
predicted ;  but  we  do  not  grant  this,  maintaining  that  he  who 
foretold  it  was  not  the  cause  of  its  happening,  because  he  fore- 
told it  would  happen;  but  the  future  event  itself,  which  would 
have  taken  place  though  not  predicted,  afforded  the  occasion  to 
him,  who  was  endowed  with  foreknowledge,  of  foretelling  its 
occurrence.  Now,  certainly  this  result  is  present  to  the  fore- 
knowledge of  him  who  predicts  an  event,  when  it  is  possible 
that  it  may  or  may  not  happen,  viz.  that  one  or  other  of  these 
things  will  take  place.  For  we  do  not  assert  that  he  who  fore- 
knows an  event,  by  secretly  taking  away  the  possibility  of  its 
happening  or  not,  makes  any  such  declaration  as  this  :  "  This 
shall  infallibly  happen,  and  it  is  impossible  that  it  can  be  other- 
wise." And  this  remark  applies  to  all  the  foreknowledge  of 
events  dependent  upon  ourselves,  whether  contained  in  the 
sacred  Scriptures  or  in  the  histories  of  the  Greeks.  Now,  what 
is  called  by  logicians  an  "  idle  argument," '"  which  is  a  sophism, 
will  be  no  sophism  as  far  as  Celsus  can  help,  but  according  to 
sound  reasoning  it  is  a  sophism.  And  that  this  may  be  seen,  I 
shall  take  from  the  Scriptures  the  predictions  regarding  Judas, 
or  the  foreknowledge  of  our  Saviour  regarding  him  as  the 
traitor  ;  and  from  the  Greek  histories  the  oracle  that  was  given 


Book  ii.]  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSVS.  27 

to  Laius,  conceding  for  the  present  its  truth,  since  it  does 
not  affect  the  argument.  Now,  in  Ps.  cix.,  Judas  is  spoken  ,> 
of  by  the  mouth  of  the  Saviour,  in  words  beginning  thus  : 
"  Hold  not  Thy  peace,  O  God  of  my  praise  ;  for  the  mouth  of 
the  wicked  and  the  mouth  of  the  deceitful  are  opened  against 
me."  Now",  if  you  carefully  observe  the  contents  of  the  psalm, 
you  will  find  that,  as  it  was  foreknown  that  he  would  betray  the 
Saviour,  so  also  was  he  considered  to  be  himself  the  cause  of 
the  betrayal,  and  deserving,  on  account  of  his  wickedness,  of  the 
imprecations  contained  in  the  prophecy.  For  let  him  suffer 
these  things,  ''  because."  says  the  psalmist,  "  he  remembered 
not  to  show  mercy,  but  persecuted  the  poor  and  needy  man." 
Wherefore  it  was  possible  for  him  to  show  mercy,  and  not  to 
persecute  him  whom  he  did  persecute.  But  although  he  might 
have  clone  these  things,  he  did  not  do  them,  but  carried  out  the 
act  of  treason,  so  as  to  merit  the  curses  pronounced  against  him 
in  the  prophecy. 

And  in  answer  to  the  Greeks  we  shall  quote  the  following 
oracular  response  to  Laius,  as  recorded  by  the  tragic  poet, 
either  in  the  exact  words  of  the  oracle  or  in  equivalent  terms. 
Future  events  are  thus  made  known  to  him  by  the  oracle : 
"  Do  not  try  to  beget  children  against  the  will  of  the  gods. 
For  if  you  beget  a  son,  your  son  shall  murder  you ;  and  all  your 
household  shall  wade  in  blood."  ^  Now  from  this  it  is  clear 
that  it  was  within  the  power  of  Laius  not  to  try  to  beget  chil- 
dren, for  the  oracle  would  not  have  commanded  an  impossi- 
bility ;  and  it  was  also  in  his  power  to  do  the  opposite,  so  that 
neither  of  these  courses  was  compulsory.  And  the  consequence 
of  his  not  guarding  against  the  begetting  of  children  was,  that 
he  suffered  from  so  doing  the  calamities  described  in  the 
tragedies  relating  to  OEdipus  and  Jocasta  and  their  sons. 
Now  that  which  is  called  the  "  idle  argument,"  being  a  quibble, 
is  such  as  might  be  applied,  say  in  the  case  of  a  sick  man,  with 
the  view  of  sophistically  preventing  him  from  employing  a 
physician  to  promote  his  recovery ;  and  it  is  something  like 
this  :  "  If  it  is  decreed  that  you  should  recover  from  your 
disease,  you  will  recover  whether  you  call  in  a  physician  or 
not ;  but  if  it  is  decreed  that  you  should  not  recover,  you  will 
1  Euripid.  Phcenissx,  18-20, 


28  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

not  recover  whether  you  call  in  a  physician  or  no.  But  it 
is  certainly  decreed  either  that  you  should  recover,  or  that 
you  should  not  recover ;  and  therefore  it  is  in  vain  that  you 
call  in  a  physician."  Now  with  this  argument  the  following 
may  be  wittily  compared :  "  If  it  is  decreed  that  you  should 
beget  children,  you  will  beget  them,  whether  you  have  inter- 
course with  a  woman  or  not.  But  if  it  is  decreed  that  you 
should  not  beget  children,  you  will  not  do  so,  whether  you  have 
intercourse  with  a  woman  or  no.  Now,  certainly,  it  is  decreed 
either  that  you  should  beget  children  or  not ;  therefore  it  is  in 
vain  that  you  have  intercourse  with  a  woman."  For,  as  in  the 
latter  instance,  intercourse  with  a  woman  is  not  employed  in 
vain,  seeing  it  is  an  utter  impossibility  for  him  who  does  not 
use  it  to  beget  children ;  so,  in  the  former,  if  recovery  from 
disease  is  to  be  accomplished  by  means  of  the  healing  art,  of 
necessity  the  physician  is  summoned,  and  it  is  therefore  false 
to  say  that  "  in  vain  do  you  call  in  a  physician."  We  have 
brought  forward  all  these  illustrations  on  account  of  the  asser- 
tion of  this  learned  Celsus,  that  "being  a  God  he  predicted 
these  things,  and  the  predictions  must  hy  all  means  come  to 
pass."  Now,  if  by  "  hy  all  means  "  he  means  "  necessarily"  we 
cannot  admit  this.  For  it  was  quite  possible,  also,  that  they 
might  not  come  to  pass.  But  if  he  uses  "  by  all  means  "  in  the 
sense  of  "  simple  futurity"  ^  which  nothing  hinders  from  being 
true  (although  it  was  possible  that  they  might  not  happen),  he 
does  not  at  all  touch  my  argument ;  nor  did  it  follow,  from 
Jesus  having  predicted  the  acts  of  the  traitor  or  the  perjurer, 
that  it  was  the  same  thing  with  His  being  the  cause  of  such 
impious  and  unholy  proceedings.  For  He  who  was  amongst 
us,  and  knew  what  was  in  man,  seeing  his  evil  disposition,  and 
foreseeing  what  he  would  attempt  from  his  spirit  of  covetous- 
ness,  and  from  his  want  of  stable  ideas  of  duty  towards  his 
Master,  along  with  many  other  declarations,  gave  utterance  to 
this  also  :  "He  that  dippetli  his  hand  with  me  in  the  dish,  the 
same  shall  betray  me."  ^ 

Chapter  xxi. 

Observe  also  the  superficiality  and  manifest  falsity  of  such 
^  d-M  ToD  idTcci.  ^  Matt.  xxvi.  23. 


Book  II.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  29 

a  statement  of  Celsus,  when  he  asserts  "  that  he  who  was  par- 
taker of  a  man's  table  would  not  conspire  against  him  ;  and  if 
he  would  not  conspire  against  a  man,  much  less  would  he  plot 
against  a  God  after  banqueting  with  him."  For  who  does  not 
know  that  many  persons,  after  partaking  of  the  salt  on  the 
table/  have  entered  into  a  conspiracy  against  their  entertainers? 
The  whole  of  Greek  and  barbarian  history  is  full  of  such  in- 
stances. And  the  Iambic  poet  of  Paros,^  when  upbraiding 
Lycambes  with  having  violated  covenants  confirmed  by  the  salt 
of  the  table,  says  to  him : 
"  But  thou  hast  broken  a  mighty  oath — that,  viz.,  by  the  salt  of  the  table." 

f  And  they  who  are  interested  in  historical  learning,  and  who 
give  themselves  wholly  to  it,  to  the  neglect  of  other  branches 

,  of  knowledge  more  necessary  for  the  conduct  of  life,"  can  quote 
numerous  instances,  showing  that  they  who  shared  in  the  hos- 
pitality of  others  entered  into  conspiracies  against  them. 

Chapter  xxii. 

He  adds  to  this,  as  if  he  had  brought  together  an  argu- 
ment with  conclusive  demonstrations  and  consequences,  the 
following :  "  And,  which  is  still  more  absurd,  God  himself 
conspired  against  those  who  sat  at  his  table,  by  converting 
them  into  traitors  and  impious  men."  But  how  Jesus  could 
either  conspire  or  convert  His  disciples  into  traitors  or  impious 
men,  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to  prove,  save  by  means  of 
such  a  deduction  as  any  one  could  refute  with  the  greatest  ease. 

Chapter  xxiii. 

He  continues  in  this  strain :  "  If  he  had  determined  upon 
these  things,  and  underwent  chastisement  in  obedience  to  his 
Father,  it  is  manifest  that,  being  a  God,  and  submitting  volun- 
tarily, those  things  that  were  done  agreeably  to  his  own  deci- 
sion were  neither  painful  nor  distressing."  But  he  did  not 
observe  that  here  he  was  at  once  contradicting  himself.  For 
if  he  granted  that  He  was  chastised  because  He  had  deter- 
mined upon  these  things,  and  had  submitted  Himself  to  His 
Father,  it  is  clear  that  He  actually  suffered  punishment,  and  it 

1  01.7.UV  Kui  TpxT^i^r,;.  ^    Archilochus. 

8  Quietus  would  expuuge  these  words  as  "  inept." 


80  OPdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

was  impossible  that  \Yliat  was  inflicted  on  Him  by  His  chastisers 
should  not  be  painful,  because  pain  is  an  involuntaiy  thing. 
But  if,  because  He  was  willing  to  suffer,  His  inflictions  were 
neither  painful  nor  distressing,  how  did  He  grant  that  "  He  was 
chastised?"  He  did  not  perceive  that  when  Jesus  had  once, 
\>y  His  birth,  assumed  a  body,  He  assumed  one  which  was 
capable  both  of  suffering  pains,  and  those  distresses  incidental  to 
humanity,  if  we  are  to  understand  by  distresses  what  no  one 
voluntarily  chooses.  Since,  therefore.  He  voluntarily  assumed 
a  body,  not  wholly  of  a  different  nature  from  that  of  human 
flesh,  so  along  with  His  body  He  assumed  also  its  sufferings  and 
distresses,  which  it  was  not  in  His  power  to  avoid  enduring,  it 
,  being  in  the  power  of  those  who  inflicted  them  to  send  upon 
Him  things  distressing  and  painful.  And  in  the  preceding 
pages  we  have  already  shown,  that  He  would  not  have  come  into 
the  hands  of  men  had  He  not  so  willed.  But  He  did  come, 
because  He  was  willing  to  come,  and  because  it  was  manifest 
beforehand  that  His  dying  upon  behalf  of  men  would  be  of 
advantage  to  the  whole  human  race. 

Chapter  xxiv. 

After  this,  wishing  to  prove  that  the  occurrences  which  befell 
Him  were  painful  and  distressing,  and  that  it  was  impossible  for 
Him,  had  He  wished,  to  render  them  otherwise,  he  proceeds : 
"  Why  does  he  mourn,  and  lament,  and  pray  to  escape  the  fear 
of  death,  expressing  himself  in  terms  like  these  :  '  O  Father,  if 
it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me  ? '  "  ^  Now  in  these 
words  observe  the  malignity  of  Celsus,  how  not  accepting  the 
love  of  truth  which  actuates  the  writers  of  the  Gospels  (who 
might  have  passed  over  in  silence  those  points  which,  as  Celsus 
thinks,  are  censurable,  but  who  did  not  omit  them  for  many 
reasons,  which  any  one,  in  expounding  the  Gospel,  can  give  in 
their  proper  place),  he  brings  an  accusation  against  the  Gospel 
statement,  grossly  exaggerating  the  facts,  and  quoting  what  is 
not  written  in  the  Gospels,  seeing  it  is  nowhere  found  that 
Jesus  lamented.  And  he  changes  the  words  in  the  expression, 
"  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me,"  and  does 
not  give  what  follows  immediately  after,  which  manifests  at 
1  Matt.  xxvi.  39. 


Book  ii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  31 

once  the  ready  obedience  of  Jesus  to  Ills  Father,  and  His 
greatness  of  mind,  and  which  runs  thus  :  "  Nevertheless,  not  as 
I  will,  but  as  Thou  wilt."  ^  Nay,  even  the  cheerful  obedience 
of  Jesus  to  the  will  of  His  Father  in  those  things  which  He 
was  condemned  to  suffer,  exhibited  in  the  declaration,  "  If  this 
cup  cannot  pass  from  me  except  I  drink  it.  Thy  will  be  done," 
he  pretends  not  to  have  observed,  acting  here  like  those  wicked 
individuals  who  listen  to  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  a  malignant 
spirit,  and  "  who  talk  wickedness  with  lofty  head."  For  they 
appear  to  have  heard  the  declaration,  "  I  kill," '  and  they  often 
make  it  to  us  a  subject  of  reproach ;  but  the  words,  "  I  will 
make  alive,"  they  do  not  remember, — the  whole  sentence  show- 
ing that  those  who  live  amid  public  wickedness,  and  who  work 
wickedly,  are 'put  to  death  by  God,  and  that  a  better  life  is 
infused  into  them  instead,  even  one  which  God  will  give  to 
those  who  have  died  to  sin.  And  so  also  these  men  have  heard 
the  words,  "I  will  smite ;"  but  they  do  not  see  these,  "  and  I 
will  heal,"  which  are  like  the  words  of  a  physicinn,  who  cuts 
bodies  asunder,  and  inflicts  severe  wounds,  in  order  to  extract 
from  them  substances  that  are  injurious  and  prejudicial  to 
health,  and  who  does  not  terminate  his  work  with  pains  and 
lacerations,  but  by  his  treatment  restores  the  body  to  that  state 
of  soundness  which  he  has  in  view.  Moreover,  they  have  not 
heard  the  whole  of  the  announcement,  "  For  He  maketh  sore, 
and  again  bindeth  up  ; "  but  only  this  part,  "  He  maketh  sore." 
So  in  like  manner  acts  this  Jew  of  Celsus,  who  quotes  the 
words,  "  O  Father,  would  that  this  cup  might  pass  from  me ;" 
but  who  does  not  add  what  follows,  and  which  exhibits  the 
firmness  of  Jesus,  and  His  preparedness  for  suffering.  But 
these  matters,  which  afford  great  room  for  explanation  from 
the  wisdom  of  God,  and  which  may  reasonably  be  pondered 
over  ^  by  those  whom  Paul  calls  "  perfect"  when  he  said,  "  We 
speak  wisdom  among  them  Avho  are  perfect,"  *  we  pass  by  for 
the  present,  and  shall  speak  for  a  little  of  those  matters  which 
are  useful  for  our  present  purpose,     i 

1  Matt.  xxvi.  39.  2  peut.  xxxii.  39. 

^  y.ui   rctvTU.  of,  ^oXX'^j/   'i-/,ovToe.  ^iriy/iaiv   cItto   (jo^idi  Qiov  (it;  6  TlxlT^os 
uv6/aci(7S  riT^sioi;  si/Xoyag  wupetood'/iaciyAi/yii/. 
^  1  Cor.  ii.  6. 


32  OFJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

Chapter  xxv. 

We  have  mentioned  in  the  preceding  pages  tliat  tliere  are 
some  of  the  declarations  of  Jesus  which  refer  to  that  Being  in 
Him  which  was  the  "  first-born  of  every  creature,"  sucli  as,  "  I 
am  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  hfe,"  and  such  hke  ;  and 
others,  again,  wliich  belong  to  that  in  Him  which  is  understood 
to  be  man,  such  as,  "  But  now  ye  seek  to  kill  me,  a  man  that 
hath  told  you  the  truth  which  I  have  heard  of  the  Father."  ^ 
And  here,  accordingly,  he  describes  the  element  of  weakness 
belonging  to  human  flesh,  and  that  of  readiness  of  spirit  which 
existed  in  His  humanity :  the  element  of  weakness  in  the 
expression,  "  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me ;" 
the  readiness  of  the  spirit  in  this,  "  Nevertheless,  not  as  I  will, 
but  as  Thou  wilt."  And  since  it  is  proper  to  observe  the  order 
of  our  quotations,  observe  that,  in  the  first  place,  there  is  men- 
tioned only  the  single  instance,  as  one  would  say,  indicating  the 
weakness  of  the  flesh  ;  and  afterwards  those  other  instances, 
greater  in  number,  manifesting  the  willingness  of  the  spirit. 
For  the  expression,  "  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass 
from  me,"  is  only  one  :  whereas  more  numerous  are  those  others, 
viz.,  "  Not  as  I  will,  but  as  Thou  wilt ;"  and,  "  O  my  Father,  if 
this  cup  cannot  pass  from  me  except  I  drink  it.  Thy  will  be 
done."  It  is  to  be  noted  also,  that  the  words  are  not,  "  let  this 
cup  depart  from  me  ; "  but  that  the  whole  expression  is  marked 
by  a  tone  of  piety  and  reverence,  "  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let 
this  cup  pass  from  me."  I  know,  indeed,  that  there  is  another 
explanation  of  this  passage  to  the  following  effect : — The 
Saviour,  foreseeing  the  sufferings  which  the  Jewish  people  and 
the  city  of  Jerusalem  were  to  undergo  in  I'equital  of  the  wicked 
deeds  which  the  Jews  had  dared  to  perpetrate  upon  Him,  from 
no  other  motive  than  that  of  the  purest  philanthropy  towards 
them,  and  from  a  desire  that  they  might  escape  the  impending 
calamities,  gave  utterance  to  the  prayer,  "  Father,  if  it  be  pos- 
sible, let  this  cup  pass  from  me."  It  is  as  if  He  had  said,  "Because 
of  my  drinking  this  cup  of  punishment,  the  whole  nation  will 
be  forsaken  by  Thee,  I  pray,  if  it  be  possible,  that  this  cup  may 
pass  from  me,  in  order  that  Thy  portion,  wliich  was  guilty  of 
^  John  viii.  40. 


Book  ii.]  OBI  GEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  33 

such  crimes  against  me,  may  not  be  altogether  deserted  by 
Thee."  But  if,  as  Celsus  would  allege,  "  nothing  at  that  time 
was  done  to  Jesus  which  was  either  painful  or  distressing,"  liow 
could  men  afterwards  quote  the  example  of  Jesus  as  enduring 
sufferinfTS  for  the  sake  of  religion,  if  He  did  not  suffer  what  are 
human  sufferings,  but  only  had  the  appearance  of  so  doing  ? 

Chapter  xxvi. 

This  Jew  of  Celsus  still  accuses  the  disciples  of  Jesus  of 
having  invented  these  statements,  saying  to  them :  "  Even 
although  guilty  of  falsehood,  ye  have  not  been  able  to  give  a 
colour  of  credibility  to  your  inventions."  In  answer  to  which  we 
have  to  say,  that  there  w-as  an  easy  method  of  concealing  these 
occurrences, — that,  viz.,  of  not  recording  them  at  all.  For  if 
the  Gospels  had  not  contained  the  accounts  of  these  things, 
who  could  have  reproached  us  with  Jesus  having  spoken  such 
words  during  His  stay  upon  the  earth?  Celsus,  indeed,  did  not 
see  that  it  was  an  inconsistency  for  the  same  persons  both  to  be 
deceived  regarding  Jesus,  believing  Him  to  be  God,  and  the 
subject  of  prophecy,  and  to  invent  fictions  about  Him,  knowing 
manifestly  that  these  statements  were  false.  Of  a  truth,  there- 
fore, they  were  not  guilty  of  inventing  untruths,  but  such  were 
their  real  impressions,  and  they  recorded  them  truly ;  or  else 
they  were  guilty  of  falsifying  the  histories,  and  did  not  enter- 
tain these  views,  and  were  not  deceived  when  they  acknow- 
ledged Him  to  be  God. 

Chapter  xxvir. 

After  this  he  says,  that  certain  of  the  Christian  believers, 
like  persons  who  in  a  fit  of  drunkenness  lay  violent  hands  upon 
themselves,  have  corrupted  the  Gospel  from  its  original  inte- 
grity, to  a  threefold,  and  fourfold,  and  many-fold  degree,  and 
have  remodelled  it,  so  that  they  might  be  able  to  answer  objec- 
tions. Now  I  know  of  no  others  who  have  altered  the  Gospel, 
save  the  followers  of  Marcion,  and  those  of  Valentinus,  and,  I 
think,  also  those  of  Lucian.  But  such  an  allegation  is  no 
charge  against  the  Christian  system,  but  against  those  who 
dared  so  to  trifle  with  the  Gospels.  And  as  it  is  no  ground 
of  accusation  against  philosophy,  that  there  exist  Sophists,  or 

OKIG. — VOL.  II.  C 


^ 


34  OlilGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

Epicureans,  or  Peripatetics,  or  any  others,  whoever  they  may 
be,  who  hold  false  opinions ;  so  neither  is  it  against  genuine 
Christianity  that  there  are  some  who  corrupt  the  Gospel  his- 
tories, and  who  introduce  heresies  opposed  to  the  meaning  of 
the  doctrine  of  Jesus. 

Chapter  xxviii. 

And  since  this  Jew  of  Celsus  makes  it  a  subject  of  reproach 
that  Christians  should  make  use  of  the  prophets,  who  predicted 
the  events  of  Christ's  life,  we  have  to  say,  in  addition  to  what 
we  have  already  advanced  upon  this  head,  that  it  became  him 
to  spare  individuals,  as  he  says,  and  to  expound  the  prophecies 
themselves ;  and  after  admitting  the  probability  of  the  Chris- 
tian interpretation  of  them,  to  show  how  the  use  which  they 

\  Imake  of  them  may  be  overturned/  For  in  this  way  he  would 
'not  appear  hastily  to  assume  so  important  a  position  on  small 
I  grounds,  and  particularly  when  he  asserts  that  the  "  prophe- 

\  j  cies  agree  with  ten  thousand  other  things  more  credibly  than 
with  Jesus."  And  he  ought  to  have  carefully  met  this  power- 
ful argument  of  the  Christians,  as  being  the  strongest  which 
they  adduce,  and  to  have  demonstrated  with  regard  to  each 
particular  prophecy,  that  it  can  apply  to  other  events  with 
greater  probability  than  to  Jesus.  He  did  not,  however,  per- 
ceive that  this  was  a  plausible  argument  to  be  advanced  against 
the  Christians  only  by  one  who  was  an  opponent  of  the  pro- 
phetic writings;  but  Celsus  has  here  put  in  the  mouth  of  a 
Jew  an  objection  which  a  Jew  would  not  have  made.  For  a 
Jew  will  not  admit  that  the  prophecies  may  be  applied  to 
countless  other  things  with  greater  probability  than  to  Jesus  ; 
but  he  will  endeavour,  after  giving  what  appears  to  him  the 
meaning  of  each,  to  oppose  the  Christian  interpretation,  not 
indeed  by  any  means  adducing  convincing  reasons,  but  only 
attempting  to  do  so. 

^  The  original  here  is  probably  corrupt :  "On  Ixpviv   avrov  (Jug  (pYtatv) 

ipeih6f<,£vov  duSpu'TTUv  ecvru;  ix.6ia&cie.t  t«?  -TTpo^fnTsletg,  Kctt  cvuxyopewxvrx  Toclg 
'7n6u.vor/i(jt'->  ctvruv,  t^»  (pxivo/^ii/nv  eti/ruv  ecuuTpoTr'/jv  r^;  ■)(,p'/j<nug  tuv  Trpo- 
(PnTiy.ui>  iyJiadott.     For  qiiioii/.ivov  Bolicrellus  would  read  KYibo/MuoVf   and 


Book  11.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  35 

Chapter  xxix. 

In  the  preceding  pages  we  have  already  spoken  of  this 
point,  viz.  the  prediction  that  there  were  to  be  two  advents  of 
Christ  to  the  human  race,  so  that  it  is  not  necessary  for  us  to 
reply  to  the  objection,  supposed  to  be  urged  by  a  Jew,  that 
"  the  prophets  declare  the  coming  one  to  be  a  mighty  poten- 
tate, Lord  of  all  nations  and  armies."  But  it  is  in  the  spirit  of 
a  Jew,  I  think,  and  in  keeping  with  their  bitter  animosity,  and 
baseless  and  even  improbable  calumnies  against  Jesus,  that 
he  adds :  "  Nor  did  the  prophets  predict  such  a  pestilence."  ^ 
For  neither  Jews,  nor  Celsus,  nor  any  other,  can  bring  any 
argument  to  prove  that  a  pestilence  converts  men  from  the 
practice  of  evil  to  a  life  which  is  according  to  nature,  and  dis- 
tinguished by  temperance  and  other  virtues. 

Chapter  xxx. 

This  objection  also  is  cast  in  our  teeth  by  Celsus  :  "  From 
such  signs  and  misinterpretations,  and  from  proofs  so  mean, 
no  one  could  prove  him  to  be  God,  and  the  Son  of  God."    Now 
it  was  his  duty  to  enumerate  the  alleged  misinterpretations, 
and  to  prove  them  to  be  such,  and  to  show  by  reasoning  the 
meanness  of  the  evidence,  in  order  that  the  Christian,  if  any 
of  his  objections  should  seem  to  be  plausible,  might  be  able  to 
answer  and  confute  his  arguments.     What  he  said,  however, 
regarding  Jesus,  did  indeed  come  to  pass,  because  He  was  a 
mightj^  potentate,  although  Celsus  refuses  to  see  that  it  so  hap- 
pened, notwithstanding  that  the  clearest  evidence  proves  it  true 
of  Jesus.     "  For  as  the  sun,"  he  says,  '•'  which  enlightens  all 
other  objects,  first  makes  himself  visible,  so  ought  the  Son  of 
God  to  have  done."     We  would  say  in  reply,  that  so  He  did ; 
for  righteousness  has  arisen  in  His  days,  and  there  is  abundance 
of  peace,  which  took  its  commencement  at  His  birth,  God  pre- 
1  paring  the  nations  for  His  teaching,  that  they  might  be  under 
/one  prince,  the  king  of  the  Eomans,  and  that  it  might  not, 
f  owing  to  the  want  of  union  among  the  nations,  caused  by  the 
;  existence  of  many  kingdoms,  be  more  difficult  for  the  apostles 
i  of  Jesus  to  accomplish  the  task  enjoined  upon  them  by  their 


36  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

Master,  -when  He  said,  "  Go  and  teach  all  nations."  Moreover  it 
is  certain  that  Jesus  was  born  in  the  reign  of  Augustus,  who,  so 
to  speak,  fused  together  into  one  monarchy  the  many  popula- 
tions of  the  earth.  Now  the  existence  of  many  kingdoms 
would  have  been  a  hindrance  to  the  spread  of  the  doctrine  of 
Jesus  throughout  the  entire  world  ;  not  only  for  the  reasons 
mentioned,  but  also  on  account  of  the  necessity  of  men  eveiy- 
where  engaging  in  war,  and  fighting  on  behalf  of  their  native 
country,  which  was  the  case  before  the  times  of  Augustus,  and 
in  periods  still  more  remote,  when  necessity  arose,  as  when  the 
Peloponnesians  and  Athenians  warred  against  each  other,  and 
other  nations  in  like  manner.  How,  then,  was  it  possible  for 
the  gospel  doctrine  of  peace,  which  does  not  permit  men  to 
take  vengeance  even  upon  enemies,  to  prevail  throughout  the 
world,  unless  at  the  advent  of  Jesus  a  milder  spirit  had  been 
everywhere  introduced  into  the  conduct  of  things  ? 

Chapter  xxxi. 

He  next  charges  the  Christians  with  being  "  guilty  of  sophis- 
tical reasoning,  in  saying  that  the  Son  of  God  is  the  Logos 
Himself."  And  he  thinks  that  he  strengthens  the  accusation, 
because  "  when  we  declare  the  Logos  to  be  the  Son  of  God, 
we  do  not  present  to  view  a  pure  and  holy  Logos,  but  a 
most  degraded  man,  vrho  was  punished  by  scourging  and  cruci- 
fixion." Now,  on  this  head  we  have  briefly  replied  to  the 
charges  of  Celsus  in  the  preceding  pages,  where  Christ  was 
shown  to  be  the  first-born  of  all  creation,  who  assumed  a  body 
and  a  human  soul ;  and  that  God  gave  commandment  respect- 
ing the  creation  of  such  mighty  things  in  the  world,  and  they 
were  created;  and  that  He  who  received  the  command  was 
God  the  Logos.  And  seeing  it  is  a  Jew  who  makes  these 
statements  in  the  work  of  Celsus,  it  will  not  be  out  of  place  to 
quote  the  declaration,  "He  sent  His  word,  and  healed  them,  and 
delivered  them  from  their  destruction,"^ — a  passage  of  which 
we  spoke  a  little  ago.  Now,  although  I  have  conferred  with 
many  Jews  who  professed  to  be  learned  men,  I  never  heard 
[any  one  expressing  his  approval  of  the  statement  that  the  Logos 
is  the  Son  of  God,  as  Celsus  declares  they  do,  in  putting  into 

1  Fs.  cvi.  20. 


Book  ii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  37 

the  mouth  of  the  Jew  such  a  declaration   as  this  :   "  If  your 
Logos  is  the  Son  of  God,  we  also  give  our  assent  to  the  same." 

CHArTER  XXXII. 

We  have  already  shown  that  Jesus  can  be  regarded  neither 
as  an  arrogant  man,  nor  a  sorcerer ;  and  therefore  it  is  un- 
necessary to  repeat  our  former  arguments,  lest,  in  replying  to 
the  tautologies  of  Celsus,  we  ourselves  should  be  guilty  of  need- 
less repetition.  And  now,  in  finding  fault  with  our  Lord's 
genealogy,  there  are  certain  points  which  occasion  some  diffi- 
culty even  to  Christians,  and  which,  owing  to  the  discrepancy 
between  the  genealogies,  are  advanced  by  some  as  arguments 
against  their  correctness,  but  which  Celsus  has  not  even  men- 
tioned. For  Celsus,  who  is  truly  a  braggart,  and  who  professes 
to  be  acquainted  with  all  matters  relating  to  Christianity,  does 
not  know  how  to  raise  doubts  in  a  skilful  manner  against  the 
credibility  of  Scripture.  But  he  asserts  that  the  "  framers  of 
the  genealogies,  from  a  feeling  of  pride,  made  Jesus  to  be  de- 
scended from  the  first  man,  and  from  the  kings  of  the  Jews." 
And  he  thinks  that  he  makes  a  notable  charge  when  he  adds, 
that  "  the  carpenter's  wife  could  not  have  been  ignorant  of  the 
fact,  had  she  been  of  such  illustrious  descent."  But  what  has 
this  to  do  with  the  question  ?  Granted  that  she  was  not 
ignorant  of  her  descent,  how  does  that  affect  the  result  ?  Sup- 
pose that  she  xcere  ignorant,  how  could  her  ignorance  prove 
tliat  she  was  not  descended  from  the  first  man,  or  could  not 
derive  her  origin  from  the  Jewish  kings  ?  Does  Celsus  imagine 
that  the  poor  must  always  be  descended  from  ancestors  who 
are  poor,  or  that  kings  are  always  born  of  kings  ?  But  it 
appears  folly  to  waste  time  upon  such  an  argument  as  this, 
seeing  it  is  well  known  that,  even  in  our  own  days,  some  who 
are  poorer  than  Mary  are  descended  from  ancestors  of  wealth 
and  distinction,  and  that  rulers  of  nations  and  kings  have 
sprung  from  persons  of  no  reputation. 

Chapter  xxxiii. 

"  But,"  continues  Celsus,  "  what  great  deeds  did  Jesus  per- 
form as  being  a  God  ?  Did  he  put  his  enemies  to  shame,  or 
bring  to   a  ridiculous   conclusion   what  was    designed  against 


38  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

him?"  Now  to  this  question,  although  we  are  able  to  show 
the  striking  and  miraculous  character  of  the  events  which  be- 
fell Him,  yet  from  what  other  source  can  we  furnish  an  answer 
than  from  the  Gospel  narratives,  which  state  that  "  there  was 
an  earthquake,  and  that  the  rocks  were  split  asunder,  and  the 
tombs  opened,  and  the  veil  of  the  temple  rent  in  twain  from 
top  to  bottom,  and  that  darkness  prevailed  in  the  day-time,  the 
sun  failing  to  give  light  ?"^  But  if  Celsus  believe  the  Gospel 
accounts  when  he  thinks  that  he  can  find  in  them  matter  of 
charge  against  the  Christians,  and  refuse  to  believe  them  when 
they  establish  the  divinity  of  Jesus,  our  answer  to  him  is  :  "  Sir,^ 
either  disbelieve  all  the  Gospel  narratives,  and  then  no  longer 
imagine  that  you  can  found  charges  upon  them ;  or,  in  yielding 
your  belief  to  their  statements,  look  in  admiration  on  the  Logos 
of  God,  who  became  incarnate,  and  who  desired  to  confer 
benefits  upon  the  whole  human  race.  And  this  feature 
evinces  the  nobility  of  the  work  of  Jesus,  that,  down  to  the 
present  time,  those  whom  God  wills  are  healed  by  His  name. 
And  with  regard  to  the  eclipse  in  the  time  of  Tiberius  Caesar, 
in  whose  reign  Jesus  appears  to  have  been  crucified,  and 
the  great  earthquakes  which  then  took  place,  Phlegon  too,  I 
think,  has  written  in  the  thirteenth  or  fourteenth  book  of  his 
Chronicles."^ 

Chapter  xxxiv. 

This  Jew  of  Celsus,  ridiculing  Jesus,  as  he  imagines,  is 
described  as  being  acquainted  with  the  Bacchas  of  Euripides, 
in  which  Dionysus  says  : 

"  The  divinity  himself  "wUl  liberate  me  whenever  I  wish."* 

Now  the  Jews  are  not  much  acquainted  with  Greek  literature ; 
but  suppose  that  there  was  a  Jew  so  well  versed  in  it  [as  to 
make  such  a'  quotation  on  his  part  appropriate],  how  [does  it 
follow]  that  Jesus  could  not  liberate  Himself,  because  He  did 
not  do  so  %     For  let  him  believe  from  our  own  Scriptures  that 

^  Cf.  Matt,  xxvii.  51,  52 ;  cf.  Luke  xxiii.  44,  45. 

^  On  Phlegon,  cf.  note  in  Migne,  pp.  823,  854. 
■*  Eurip.  Bacchx,  v.  498  (ed.  Dindorf). 


BooKii.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  39 

Peter  obtained  his  freedom  after  having  been  bound  in  prison, 
an  angel  having  loosed  his  chains  ;  and  that  Paul,  having  been 
bound  in  the  stocks  along  with  Silas  in  Phih'ppi  of  Macedonia, 
was  liberated  by  divine  power,  when  the  gates  of  the  prison 
were  opened.  But  it  is  probable  that  Celsus  treats  tliese  ac- 
counts with  ridicule,  or  that  he  never  read  them;  for  he  would 
probably  say  in  reply,  that  there  are  certain  sorcerers  who  are 
able  by  incantations  to  unloose  chains  and  to  open  doors,  so  that 
be  would  liken  the  events  related  in  our  histories  to  the  doings 
of  sorcerers.  "  But,"  he  continues,  "  no  calamity  happened 
even  to  him  who  condemned  him,  as  there  did  to  Pentheus, 
viz.  madness  or  discerption."^  And  yet  he  does  not  know 
that  it  was  not  so  much  Pilate  that  condemned  Him  (who  knew 
that  "  for  envy  the  Jews  had  delivered  Him  "  ),  as  the  Jewish 
nation,  which  has  been  condemned  by  God,  and  rent  in  pieces, 
and  dispersed  over  the  whole  earth,  in  a  degree  far  beyond 
what  happened  to  Pentheus.  Moreovei',  why  did  he  inten- 
tionally omit  what  is  related  of  Pilate's  wife,  who  beheld  a 
vision,  and  who  was  so  moved  by  it  as  to  send  a  message  to  her 
husband,  saying :  "  Have  thou  nothing  to  do  with  that  just 
man ;  for  I  have  suffered  many  things  this  day  in  a  dream  be- 
cause of  him?""  And  again,  passing  by  in  silence  the  proofs 
of  the  divinity  of  Jesus,  Celsus  endeavours  to  cast  reproach 
upon  Him  from  the  narratives  in  the  Gospel,  referring  to  those 
who  mocked  Jesus,  and  put  on  Him  the  purple  robe,  and  the 
crown  of  thorns,  and  placed  the  reed  in  His  hand.  From  what 
source  now,  Celsus,  did  you  derive  these  statements,  save  from 
the  Gospel  narratives  ?  And  did  you,  accordingly,  see  that  they 
were  fit  matters  for  reproach,  while  they  who  recorded  them 
did  not  think  that  you,  and  such  as  you,  would  turn  them  into 
ridicule ;  but  that  others  would  receive  from  them  an  example 
how  to  despise  those  who  ridiculed  and  mocked  Him  on  account  of 
His  religion,  wdio  appropriately  laid  down  His  life  for  its  sake  ? 
Admire  rather  their  love  of  truth,  and  that  of  the  Being  who 
bore  these  things  voluntarily  for  the  sake  of  men,  and  who 
endured  them  with  all  constancy  and  long-suffering.  For  it  is 
not  recorded  that  He  uttered  any  lamentation,  or  that  after  His 
condemnation  He  either  did  or  uttered  anything  unbecoming. 
^  Cf.  Euseb.  Hist.  Eecles.  b.  ii.  c.  vii.  2  jjatt.  xxvii.  19. 


40  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

Chapter  xxxv. 

But  in  answer  to  this  objection,  "  If  not  before,  yet  why 
now,  at  least,  does  he  not  give  some  manifestation  of  his 
divinity,  and  free  himself  from  this  reproach,  and  take  ven- 
geance upon  those  who  insult  both  him  and  bis  Father?" 
We  have  to  reply,  that  it  would  be  the  same  thing  as  if  we 
were  to  say  to  those  among  the  Greeks  who  accept  the  doctrine 
of  providence,  and  who  believe  in  portents,  Why  does  God  not 
punish  those  who  insult  the  Divinity,  and  subvert  the  doctrine 
of  providence  ?  For  as  the  Greeks  would  answer  such  objec- 
tions, so  would  we,  in  the  same,  or  a  more  effective  manner. 
There  was  not  only  a  portent  from  heaven — the  eclipse  of  the 
sun — but  also  the  other  miracles,  which  show  that  the  crucified 
One  possessed  something  that  was  divine,  and  greater  than  was 
possessed  by  the  majority  of  men. 

Chapter  xxxvi. 

Celsus  next  says  :  "  What  is  the  nature  of  the  ichor  in  the 
body  of  the  crucified  Jesus  %  Is  it  '  such  as  flows  in  the  bodies 
of  the  immortal  gods  ? '  "  ^  He  puts  this  question  in  a  spirit 
of  mockery ;  but  we  shall  show  from  the  serious  narratives  of 
the  Gospels,  although  Celsus  may  not  like  it,  that  it  was  no 
mythic  and  Homeric  ichor  which  flowed  from  the  body  of 
Jesus,  but  that,  after  His  death,  "  one  of  the  soldiers  with  a 
spear  pierced  His  side,  and  there  came  thereout  blood  and 
water.  And  he  that  saw  it  bare  record,  and  his  record  is  true, 
and  he  knoweth  that  he  saith  the  truth."  ^  Now,  in  other  dead 
bodies  the  blood  congeals,  and  pure  water  does  not  flow  forth ; 
but  the  miraculous  feature  in  the  case  of  the  dead  body  of 
Jesus  was,  that  around  the  dead  body  blood  and  water  flowed 
forth  from  the  side.  But  if  this  Celsus,  who,  in  order  to  find 
matter  of  accusation  against  Jesus  and  the  Christians,  extracts 
from  the  Gospel  even  passages  which  are  incorrectly  inter- 
preted, but  passes  over  in  silence  the  evidences  of  the  divinity 
of  Jesus,  would  listen  to  divine  portents,  let  him  read  the 
Gospel,  and  see  that  even  the  centurion,  and  they  who  with 
him  kept  watch  over  Jesus,  on  seeing  the  earthquake,  and  the 
1  Cf.  Iliad,  vi.  340.  ^  cf,  JqI^u  ^ix.  34,  35. 


Book  ii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  41 

events  that  occurred,  were  greatly  afraid,  saying,  "  This  man 
was  the  son  of  God."  ^ 

Chapter  xxxvii. 

After  this,  he  who  extracts  from  the  Gospel  narrative  those 
statements  on  which  he  thinks  he  can  found  an  accusation, 
makes  the  vinegar  and  the  gall  a  subject  of  reproach  to  Jesus, 
saying  that  "  he  rushed  with  open  mouth  ^  to  drink  of  them, 
and  could  not  endure  his  thirst  as  any  ordinary  man  frequently 
endures  it."  Now  this  matter  admits  of  an  explanation  of  a 
peculiar  and  figurative  kind ;  but  on  the  present  occasion,  the 
statement  that  the  prophets  predicted  this  very  incident  may  be 
accepted  as  the  more  common  answer  to  the  objection.  For  in 
the  sixty-ninth  Psalm  there  is  written,  with  reference  to  Christ : 
"And  they  gave  me  gall  for  my  meat,  and  in  my  thirst  they  gave 
me  vinegar  to  drink."  ^  Now,  let  the  Jews  say  who  it  is  that 
the  prophetic  writing  represents  as  uttering  these  words ;  and 
let  them  adduce  from  history  one  who  received  gall  for  his  food, 
and  to  whom  vinegar  was  given  as  drink.  Would  they  venture 
to  assert  that  the  Christ  whom  they  expect  still  to  come  might 
be  placed  in  such  circumstances  ?  Then  we  Avould  say.  What 
prevents  the  prediction  from  having  been  already  accomplished  ? 
For  this  very  prediction  was  uttered  many  ages  before,  and  is 
sufficient,  along  with  the  other  prophetic  utterances,  to  lead  him 
who  fairly  examines  the  whole  matter  to  the  conclusion  that 
Jesus  is  He  who  was  prophesied  of  as  Christ,  and  as  the  Son  of 
God.  » 

Chapter  xxxviii. 

The  Jew  next  remarks :  "  You,  O  sincere  believers,*  find 
fault  with  us,  because  we  do  not  recognise  this  individual  as 
God,  nor  agree  with  you  that  he  endured  these  [sufferings] 
for  the  benefit  of  mankind,  in  order  that  we  also  might  despise 
punishment."  Now,  in  answer  to  this,  we  say  that  we  blame 
the  Jews,  who  have  been  brought  up  under  the  ti'aining  of  the 
law  and  the  prophets  (which  foretell  the  coming  of  Christ), 
because  they  neither  refute  the  arguments  which  we  lay  before 
them  to  prove  that  He  is  the  Messiah,^  adducing  such  refuta- 

^  Cf.  Matt,  xxvii.  54.  *  ;i«>ody. 

^  Ps.  Ixix.  21.  ■*  i)  viarcTUTOi.  ^  Toy  Xoiarov, 


42  OniGEN  AGAINST  GELS  US.  [Book  ir. 

tion  as  a  defence  of  their  unbelief ;  nor  yet,  while  not  offering 
any  refutation,  do  they  believe  in  Him  who  was  the  subject  of 
prophecy,  and  who  clearly  manifested  through  His  disciples,  even 
after  the  period  of  His  appearance  in  the  flesh,  that  He  under- 
went these  things  for  the  benefit  of  mankind;  having,  as  the 
object  of  His  first  advent,  not  to  condemn  men  and  their  actions^ 
before  He  had  instructed  them,  and  pointed  out  to  them  their 
duty,^  nor  to  chastise  the  wicked  and  save  the  good,  but  to  dis- 
seminate His  doctrine  in  an  extraordinary^  manner,  and  with 
the  evidence  of  divine  power,  among  the  whole  human  race,  as 
the  prophets  also  have  represented  these  things.  And  we  blame 
them,  moreover,  because  they  did  not  believe  in  Him  who  gave 
evidence  of  the  power  that  was  in  Him,  but  asserted  that  He 
cast  out  demons  from  the  souls  of  men  through  Beelzebub  the 
prince  of  the  demons ;  and  we  blame  them  because  they  slander 
the  philanthropic  character  of  Him,  who  overlooked  not  only 
no  city,  but  not  even  a  single  village  in  Judea,  that  He  might 
everywhere  announce  the  kingdom  of  God.  accusing  Him  of 
leading  the  wandering  life  of  a  vagabond,  and  passing  an  anxious 
existence  in  a  disgraceful  body.  But  there  is  no  disgrace  in 
enduring  such  labours  for  the  benefit  of  all  those  who  may  be 
able  to  understand  Him. 

Chapter  xxxix. 

And  how  can  the  following  assertion  of  this  Jew  of  Celsus 
appear  anything  else  than  a  manifest  falsehood,  viz.  that  Jesus 
"  having  gained  over  no  one  during  his  life,  not  even  his  own 
disciples,  underwent  these  punishments  and  sufferings  ?  "  For 
from  what  other  source  sprang  the  envy  which  was  aroused 
against  Him  by  the  Jewish  high  priests,  and  elders,  and  scribes, 
save  from  the  fact  that  multitudes  obeyed  and  followed  Him, 
and  were  led  into  the  deserts  not  only  by  the  persuasive*  lan- 
guage of  Him  whose  words  were  always  appropriate  to  His 
hearers,  but  who  also  by  His  miracles  made  an  impression  on 
those  who  were  not  moved  to  belief  by  His  words  ?  And  is  it 
not  a  manifest  falsehood  to  say  that  "he  did  not  gain  over  even 
his  own  disciples,"  who  exhibited,  indeed,  at  that  time  some 

^  T«  a.v6pu'77U'j.  "  [^iX.pTupixa6cti  -Trip]  ruv  irpaKriuv. 

*  vxpxho^ug.  *  T^f  tZi/  "Koyuv  ui/rou  ciKO>.ov6icc.s. 


Book  il]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  43 

symptoms  of  human  weakness  arising  from  cowardly  fear — for 
they  had  not  yet  been  disciplined  to  the  exhibition  of  full 
courage — but  who  by  no  means  abandoned  the  judgments 
which  they  had  formed  regarding  Him  as  the  Christ?  For 
Peter,  after  his  denial,  perceiving  to  what  a  depth  of  wicked- 
ness he  had  fallen,  "  went  out  and  wept  bitterly ;"  while  the 
others,  although  stricken  Nvith  dismay  on  account  of  what  had 
happened  to  Jesus  (for  they  still  continued  to  admire  Him), 
had,  by  His  glorious  appearance,^  their  belief  more  firmly 
established  than  before  that  He  was  the  Son  of  God. 

Chapter  xl. 

It  is,  moreover,  in  a  veiy  unphilosophical  spirit  that  Celsus 
imagines  our  Lord's  pre-eminence  among  men  to  consist,  not 
in  the  preaching  of  salvation  and  in  a  pure  morality,  but  in 
acting  contrary  to  the  character  of  that  personality  which  He  had 
taken  upon  Him,  and  in  not  dying,  although  He  had  assumed 
mortality ;  or,  if  dying,  yet  at  least  not  such  a  death  as  might 
serve  as  a  pattern  to  those  who  were  to  learn  by  that  yevy  act 
how  to  die  for  the  sake  of  religion,  and  to  comport  themselves 
boldly  through  its  help,  before  those  who  hold  erroneous  views 
on  the  subject  of  religion  and  irreligion,  and  who  regard  religious 
men  as  altogether  irreligious,  but  imagine  those  to  be  most  reli- 
gious who  err  regarding  God,  and  who  apply  to  everything  rather 
than  to  God  the  ineradicable  ^  idea  of  Him  [which  is  implanted 
in  the  human  mind],  and  especially  when  they  eagerly  rush  to 
destroy  those  who  have  yielded  themselves  up  with  their  whole 
soul  (even  unto  death),  to  the  clear  evidence  of  one  God  who  is 
over  all  things. 

Chapter  xli. 

In  the  person  of  the  Jew,  Celsus  continues  to  find  fault 
with  Jesus,  alleging  that  "he  did  not  show  himself  to  be  pure 
from  all  evil."  Let  Celsus  state  from  what  "  evil "  our  Lord 
did  not  show  Himself  to  be  pure.  If  he  means  that  He  was 
not  pure  from  what  is  properly  termed  "  evil,"  let  him  clearly 
prove  the  existence  of  any  wicked  work  in  Him.  But  if  he 
deems  poverty  and  the  cross  to  be  evils,  and  conspiracy  on  the 
part  of  wicked  men,  then  it  is  clear  that  he  would  say  that  evil 

^  i'7ri(poi,'jitix.g.  ^  T'^v  TTspi  ccvTov  ddixaT-po^poi/  ivvoictv. 


44  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

had  happened  also  to  Socrates,  who  was  unable  to  show  himself 
pure  from  evils.  And  how  great  also  the  other  band  of  poor 
men  is  among  the  Greeks,  who  have  given  themselves  to 
philosophical  pursuits,  and  have  voluntarily  accepted  a  life  of 
povert}',  is  known  to  many  among  the  Greeks  from  what  is  re- 
corded of  Democritus,  who  allowed  his  property  to  become 
pasture  for  sheep ;  and  of  Crates,  who  obtained  his  freedom  by 
bestowing  upon  the  Thebans  the  price  received  for  the  sale  of 
his  possessions.  Nay,  even  Diogenes  himself,  from  excessive 
poverty,  came  to  live  in  a  tub ;  and  yet,  in  the  opinion  of  no 
one  possessed  of  moderate  understanding,  was  Diogenes  on 
that  account  considered  to  be  in  an  evil  (sinf  al)  condition. 

Chapter  xlii. 

But  further,  since  Celsus  will  have  it  that  "  Jesus  was  not 
irreproachable,"  let  him  instance  any  one  of  those  who  adhere 
to  His  doctrine,  who  has  recorded  anything  that  could  truly 
furnish  ground  of  reproach  against  Jesus  ;  or  if  it  be  not  from 
these  that  he  derives  his  matter  of  accusation  against  Him,  let 
him  say  from  what  quarter  he  has  learned  that  which  has  in- 
duced him  to  say  that  He  is  not  free  from  reproach.  Jesus, 
however,  performed  all  that  He  promised  to  do,  and  by  which 
He  conferred  benefits  upon  His  adherents.  And  we,  continu- 
ally seeing  fulfilled  all  that  was  predicted  b}^  Him  before  it 
happened,  viz.  that  this  gospel  of  His  should  be  preached 
throughout  the  whole  world,  and  that  His  disciples  should  go 
among  all  nations  and  announce  His  doctrine  ;  and,  moreover, 
that  they  should  be  brought  before  governors  and  kings  on  no 
other  account  than  because  of  His  teaching ;  we  are  lost  in 
wonder  at  Him,  and  have  our  taith  in  Him  daily  confirmed. 
And  I  know  not  by  what  greater  or  more  convincing  proofs 
Celsus  would  have  Him  confirm  His  predictions  ;  unless,  in- 
deed, as  seems  to  be  the  case,  not  understanding  tliat  the  Logos 
had  become  the  man  Jesus,  he  would  have  Him  to  be  subject 
to  no  human  weakness,  nor  to  become  an  illustrious  pattern  to 
men  of  the  manner  in  which  they  ought  to  bear  the  calamities 
of  life,  although  these  appear  to  Celsus  to  be  most  lamentable 
and  disgraceful  occurrences,  seeing  that  he  regards  labour  ^  to 


Book  ii  ]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  45 

be  the  greatest  of  evils,  and  pleasure  the  perfect  good, — a  view 
accepted  by  none  of  those  philosophers  who  admit  the  doctrine 
of  providence,  and  who  allow  that  courage,  and  fortitude,  and 
magnanimity  are  virtues.  Jesus,  therefore,  by  His  sufferings 
cast  no  discredit  upon  the  faith  of  which  He  was  the  object ; 
but  rather  confirmed  the  same  among  those  who  would  approve 
of  manly  courage,  and  among  those  who  were  taught  by  Him 
that  what  was  truly  and  properly  the  happy  life  was  not  here 
below,  but  was  to  be  found  in  that  which  was  called,  according 
to  His  own  words,  the  "coming  world;"  whereas  in  what  is 
called  the  "  present  world  "  life  is  a  calamity,  or  at  least  the 
first  and  greatest  struggle  of  the  soul.^ 

Chapter  xliii. 

Celsus  next  addresses  to  us  the  following  remark  :  ''  You 
will  not,  I  suppose,  say  of  him,  that,  after  failing  to  gain  over 
those  who  were  in  this  world,  he  went  to  Hades  to  gain  over 
those  who  were  there."  But  whether  he  like  it  or  not,  we 
assert  that  not  only  while  Jesus  was  in  the  body  did  He  win 
over  not  a  few  persons  merely,  but  so  great  a  number,  that  a 
conspiracy  was  formed  against  Him  on  account  of  the  multi- 
tude of  His  followers ;  but  also,  that  when  He  became  a  soul, 
without  the  coverino-  of  the  bodv,  He  dwelt  anions;  those  souls 
which  were  without  bodily  covering,  converting  such  of  them 
as  were  willing  to  Himself,  or  those  whom  He  saw,  for  reasons 
known  to  Him  alone,  to  be  better  adapted  to  such  a  course. 

Chapter  xhv. 

Celsus  in  t^ie  next  place  says,  with  indescribable  silliness  : 
"  If,  after  inventing  defences  which  are  absurd,  and  by  which 
ye  were  ridiculously  deluded,  ye  imagine  that  you  really  make 
a  good  defence,  what  prevents  you  from  regarding  those  other 
individuals  who  have  been  condemned,  and  have  died  a  miser- 
able death,  as  greater  and  more  divine  messengers  of  heaven 
[than  Jesus]  V  Now,  that  manifestly  and  clearly  there  is  no 
similarity  between  Jesus,  who  suffered  what  is  described,  and 
those  who  have  died  a  wretched  death  on  account  of  their 
sorcery,  or  whatever  else  be  the  charge  against  them,  is  patent 

^  dyuvec  rou  Trpurcu  kcci  f/Ayi7rsv  rvig  '^vx,^^. 


46  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

to  every  one.  For  no  one  can  point  to  any  acts  of  a  sorcerer 
which  turned  away  souls  from  the  practice  of  the  many  sins 
which  prevail  among  men,  and  from  the  flood  of  wickedness 
(in  the  world) .'^  But  since  tliis  Jew  of  Celsus  compares  Plim 
to  robbers,  and  says  that  "  any  similarly  shameless  fellow 
might  be  able  to  say  regarding  even  a  robber  and  murderer 
whom  punishment  had  overtaken,  that  such  an  one  was  not  a 
robber,  but  a  god,  because  he  predicted  to  his  fellow-robbers 
that  he  would  suffer  such  punishment  as  he  actually  did  suffer," 
it  mif^ht,  in  the  first  place,  be  answered,  that  it  is  not  because 
He  predicted  that  He  would  suffer  such  things  that  we  enter- 
tain those  opinions  regarding  Jesus  which  lead  us  to  have  con- 
fidence in  Him,  as  one  who  has  come  down  to  us  from  God. 
And,  in  the  second  place,  we  assert  that  this  very  comparison - 
has  been  somehow  foretold  in  the  Gospels;  since  God  was 
numbered  with  the  transgressors  by  wicked  men,  who  desired 
rather  a  "  murderer"  (one  who  for  sedition  and  murder  had 
been  cast  into  prison)  to  be  released  unto  them,  and  Jesus  to  be 
crucified,  and  who  crucified  Him  between  two  robbers.  Jesus, 
indeed,  is  ever  crucified  with  robbers  among  Plis  genuine  dis- 
ciples and  witnesses  to  the  truth,  and  suffers  the  same  condem- 
nation which  they  do  among  men.  And  we  say,  that  if  those 
persons  have  any  resemblance  to  robbers,  who  on  account  of 
their  piety  towards  God  suffer  all  kinds  of  injury  and  death, 
that  they  may  keep  it  pure  and  unstained,  according  to  the 
teaching  of  Jesus,  then  it  is  clear  also  that  Jesus,  the  author 
of  such  teaching,  is  with  good  reason  compared  by  Celsus  to  the 
captain  of  a  band  of  robbers.  But  neither  was  He  who  died 
for  the  common  good  of  mankind,  nor  they  who  suffered 
because  of  their. religion,  and  alone  of  all  men  were  persecuted 
because  of  what  appeared  to  them  the  right  way  of  honouring 
God,  put  to  death  in  accordance  with  justice,  nor  was  Jesus 
persecuted  without  the  charge  of  impiety  being  incurred  by  His 
persecutors. 

Chapter  xlv. 
But  observe  the  superficial  nature  of  his  argument  respect- 
ing the  former  disciples  of  Jesus,  in  which  he  says  :  "  In  the 
next  place,  those  who  were  his  associates  while  alive,  and  who 


Book  ii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  47 

listened  to  his  voice,  and  enjoyed  his  instructions  as  their 
teacher,  on  seeing  him  subjected  to  punishment  and  death, 
neither  died  with  him,  nor  for  him,  nor  were  even  induced  to 
regard  punishment  with  contempt,  but  denied  even  that  they 
were  his  disciples,  whereas,  now  ye  die  along  with  him." 
And  here  he  believes  the  sin  which  was  committed  by  the  dis- 
ciples while  they  were  yet  beginners  and  imperfect,  and  which 
is  recorded  in  the  Gospels,  to  have  been  actually  committed, 
in  order  that  he  may  have  matter  of  accusation  against  the 
gospel ;  but  their  upright  conduct  after  their  transgression, 
when  they  behaved  with  courage  before  the  Jews,  and  suffered 
countless  cruelties  at  their  hands,  and  at  last  suffered  death  for 
the  doctrine  of  Jesus,  he  passes  by  in  silence.  For  he  would 
neither  hear  the  words  of  Jesus,  when  He  predicted  to  Peter, 
"  When  thou  shalt  be  old,  thou  shalt  stretch  forth  thy  hands,"  ^ 
etc.,  to  which  the  Scripture  adds,  "  This  spake  He,  signifying 
by  what  death  he  should  glorify  God  ;"  nor  how  James  the 
brother  of  John — an  apostle,  the  brother  of  an  apostle — was 
slain  with  the  sword  by  Herod  for  the  doctrine  of  Christ ;  nor 
even  the  many  instances  of  boldness  displayed  by  Peter  and 
the  other  apostles  because  of  the  gospel,  and  "  how  they  went 
forth  from  the  presence  of  the  Sanhedrim  after  being  scourged, 
rejoicing  that  they  were  counted  worthy  to  suffer  shame  for 
His  name," "  and  so  surpassing  many  of  thie  instances  related 
by  the  Greeks  of  the  fortitude  and  courage  of  their  philo- 
sophers. From  the  very  beginning,  then,  this  was  inculcated 
as  a  precept  of  Jesus  among  His  hearers,  which  taught  men 
to  despise  the  life  which  is  eagerly  sought  after  by  the  multi- 
tude, but  to  be  earnest  in  living  the  life  which  resembles  tli,at 
of  God. 

Chapter  xlvi. 

But  how  can  this  Jew  of  Celsus  escape  the  charge  of  false- 
hood, when  he  says  that  Jesus,  "  when  on  earth,  gained  over  to 
himself  only  ten  sailors  and  tax-gatherers  of  the  most  worthless 
character,  and  not  even  the  whole  of  these  ?  "  Now  it  is  cer- 
tain that  the  Jews  themselves  would  admit  that  He  drew  over 
not  ten  persons  merely,  nor  a  hundred,  nor  a  thousand,  but 
1  Jolin  xxi,  18.  2  ^cts  v.  41. 


48  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

on  one  occasion  five  thousand  at  once,  and  on  another  four 
thousand  ;  and  that  He  attracted  them  to  such  a  degree  that 
they  followed  Him  even  into  the  deserts,  which  alone  could 
contain  the  assembled  multitude  of  those  who  believed  in  God 
through  Jesus,  and  where  He  not  only  addressed  to  them  dis- 
courses, but  also  manifested  to  them  His  works.  And  now, 
through  his  tautology,  he  compels  us  also  to  be  tautological, 
since  we  are  careful  to  guard  against  being  supposed  to  pass 
over  any  of  the  charges  advanced  by  him ;  and  therefore,  in 
reference  to  the  matter  before  us,  following  the  order  of  his 
treatise  as  we  have  it,  he  says  :  "  Is  it  not  the  height  of  absur- 
dity to  maintain,  that  if,  while  he  himself  was  alive,  lie  won 
over  not  a  single  person  to  his  views,  after  his  death  any  who 
wish  are  able  to  gain  over  such  a  multitude  of  individuals?" 
Whereas  he  ought  to  have  said,  in  consistency  with  truth,  that 
if,  after  His  death,  not  simply  those  who  will,  but  they  who 
have  the  will  and  the  power,  can  gain  over  so  many  proselytes, 
how  much  more  consonant  to  reason  is  it,  that  while  He  was 
alive  He  should,  through  the  greater  power  of  His  words  and 
deeds,  have  won  over  to  Himself  manifold  greater  numbers  of 
adherents  ? 

Chapter  xlvii. 
He  represents,  moreover,  a  statement  of  his  own  as  if  it 
were  an  answer  to  one  of  his  questions,  in  which  he  asks :  "  By 
what  train  of  argument  were  you  led  to  regard  him  as  the  Son 
of  God  ?  "  For  he  makes  us  answer  that  "  w^e  were  won  over 
to  him,  because^  we  know  that  his  punishment  was  undergone 
to  bring  about  the  destruction  of  the  father  of  evil."  Now 
w:e  were  won  over  to  His  doctrine  by  innumerable  other  con- 
siderations, of  which  we  have  stated  only  the  smallest  part  in 
the  preceding  pages ;  but,  if  God  permit,  we  shall  continue  to 
enumerate  them,  not  only  while  dealing  with  the  so-called  True 
Discourse  of  Celsus,  but  also  on  many  other  occasions.  And, 
as  if  we  said  that  we  consider  Ilim  to  be  the  Son  of  God  be- 
cause He  suffered  punishment,  he  asks :  "  What  then  ?  have 
not  many  others,  too,  been  punished,  and  that  not  less  disgrace- 

^  The  reading  in  the  text  is  il  xccl  t'tj/mv  ;  for  which  both  Bohereau  aud  De 
la  Rue  propose  sTrel  iaf/.sv,  -which  has  been  adopted  in  the  translation  :  cf. 
fVil  iKoTiuadyi,  infra.  • 


Book  II.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  49 

fully?"'  And  hero  Celsns  acts  like  the  most  contemptible 
enemies  of  the  gospel,  and  like  those  who  imagine  that  It  fol- 
lows as  a  consequence  from  our  history  of  the  crucified  Jesus, 
that  we  should  worship  those  who  have  undergone  crucifixion  ! 

Chapter  xlviii. 

Celsus,  moreover,  unable  to  resist  the  miracles  which  Jesus  is 
recorded  to  have  performed,  has  already  on  several  occasions 
spoken  of  them  slanderously  as  works  of  sorcery ;  and  Ave  also 
on  several  occasions  have,  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  replied  to 
Ills  statements.     And  now  he  represents  us  as  saying  that  "  we 
deemed  Jesus  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  because  he  healed  the 
lame  and  the  blind."     And  he  adds  :  "  Moreover,  as  you  assert, 
he  raised  the  dead."     That  He  healed  the  lame  and  the  blind, 
and  that  therefore  we  hold  Him  to  be  the  Christ  and  the  Son 
of  God,  is  manifest  to  us  from  what  is  contained  in  the  pro- 
phecies :  '■'■  Then  the  eyes  of  the  blind  shall  be  opened,  and  the 
ears  of  the  deaf  shall  hear;  then  shall  the  lame  man  leap  as  an 
hart."  ^     And  that  He  also  raised  the  dead,  and  that  it  is  na   .' 
fiction  of  those  who  composed  the  Gospels,  is  shown  by  this,    : 
that  if  It  had  been  a  fiction,  many  individuals  would  have  been    \ 
represented  as  having  risen  from  the  dead,   and    these,   too,,   ' 
such  as  had  been  many  years  in  their  graves.      But  as  it  is   ' 
no  fiction,  they  are  very  easily  counted  of  whom  this  is  related 
to  have  happened ;  viz.  the  daughter  of  the  ruler  of  the  syna- 
gogue (of  whom  I  know  not  why  He  said,  "  She  is  not  dead,  j 
but  sleepeth,"  stating  regarding  her  something  wdiich  does  not  -   > 
apply  to  all  who  die) ;  and  the  only  son  of  the  widow,  on  whom 
He  took  compassion  and  raised  him  up,  making  the  bearers  of 
the  corpse  to  stand  still ;  and  the  third  instance,  that  of  Laza- 
rus, who  had  been  four  days  in  the  grave.      Now,  regarding 
these  cases  we  would  say  to  all  persons  of  candid  mind,  and 
especially  to  the  Jew,  that  as  there  were  many  lepers  in  the 
days  of  Elisha  the  prophet,  and  none  of  them  was  healed  save 
Naaman  the  Syrian,  and  many  widows  in  the  days  of  Elijah 
the  prophet,  to  none  of  whom  was  Elijah  sent  save  to  Sarepta 
in  SIdonia  (for  the  widow  there  had  been  deemed  worthy  by  a 
divine  decree  of  the  miracle  Avhich  was  wrought  by  the  pro- 
^  Cf.  Isa.  XXXV.  5,  G. 

ORIG. — VOL    II.  D 


50  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

phet  in  the  matter  of  the  bread)  ;  so  also  there  Avere  many 
t  dead  in  the  days  of  Jesus,  hut  those  only  rose  from  the  grave 
whom  the  Logos  knew  to  be  fitted  for  a  resurrection,  in  order 
that  the  works  done  by  the  Lord  might  not  be  merely  symbols 
of  certain  things,  but  that  by  the  very  acts  themselves  He 
might  gain  over  many  to  the  marvellous  doctrine  of  the  gospel. 
I  would  say,  moreover,  that,  agreeably  to  the  promise  of  Jesus, 
His  disciples  performed  even  greater  works  than  these  miracles  of 
Jesus,  which  were  perceptible  only  to  the  senses.-^  For  the  eyes 
of  those  who  are  blind  in  soul  are  ever  opened ;  and  the  ears  of 
those  who  were  deaf  to  virtuous  words,  listen  readily  to  the 
doctrine  of  God,  and  of  the  blessed  life  with  Him  ;  and  many, 
too,  who  were  lame  in  the  feet  of  the  "  inner  man,"  as  Scrip- 
ture calls  it,  having  now  been  healed  by  the  word,  do  not  simply 
y  leap,  but  leap  as  the  hart,  which  is  an  animal  hostile  to  serpents, 
\  and  stronger  than  all  the  poison  of  vipers.  And  these  lame 
who  have  been  healed,  receive  from  Jesus  power  to  trample, 
with  those  feet  in  which  they  were  formerly  lame,  upon  the 
serpents  and  scorpions  of  wickedness,  and  generally  upon  all 
the  power  of  the  enemy;  and  though  they  tread  upon  it,  they 
sustain  no  injury,  for  they  also  have  become  stronger  than  the 
poison  of  all  evil  and  of  demons. 

Chapter  xlix. 

Jesus,  accordingly,  in  turning  away  the  minds  of  His  dis- 
ciples, not  merely  from  giving  heed  to  sorcerers  in  general, 
and  those  who  profess  in  any  other  manner  to  Avork  miracles — 
for  His  disciples  did  not  need  to  be  so  warned — but  from  such 
as  o-ave  themselves  out  as  the  Christ  of  God,  and  who  tried  by 
certain  apparent^  miracles  to  gain  over  to  them  the  disciples  of 
Jesus,  said  in  a  certain  passage  :  "  Then,  if  any  man  shall  say 
unto  you,  Lo,  here  is  Christ,  or  there;  believe  it  not.  For 
there  shall  arise  false  Christs  and  false  prophets,  and  shall  show 
great  signs  and  wonders;  insomuch  that,  if  it  were  possible, 
they  shall  deceive  the  very  elect.  Behold,  I  have  told  you 
before.  Wherefore,  if  they  shall  say  unto  you,  Behold,  he  is 
in  the  desert,  go  not  forth ;  behold,  he  is  in  the  secret  chambers, 
believe  it  not.     For  as  the  lightning  cometh  out  of  the  east,  and 

^  uv  '  IflffoS?  ul(j6r,Tuu.  ^  (puvraaiuv. 


Book  II.]  OrJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  51 

shineth  even  to  the  west,  so  also  shall  the  coming  of  the  Son 
of  man  be."^  And  in  another  passage:  "Many  will  say  unto 
me  in  that  clay,  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not  eaten  and  drunk  in 
Thy  name,  and  by  Thy  name  have  cast  out  demons,  and  done 
many  wonderful  works  ?  And  then  will  I  say  unto  them,  De- 
part from  me,  because  ye  are  workers  of  iniquity."'  But 
Celsus,  wishing  to  assimilate  the  miracles  of  Jesus  to  the  works 
of  human  sorcery,  says  in  express  terms  as  follows :  "  O 
h'ght  and  truth !  he  distinctly  declares,  with  his  own  voice,  as 
ye  yourselves  have  recorded,  that  there  will  come  to  you  even 
others,  employing  miracles  of  a  similar  kind,  who  are  wicked 
men,  and  sorcerers ;  and  he  calls  him  who  makes  use  of  such 
devices,  one  Satan.  So  that  Jesus  himself  does  not  deny  that 
these  works  at  least  are  not  at  all  divine,  but  are  the  acts  of 
wicked  men ;  and  being  compelled  by  the  force  of  truth,  he  at 
the  same  time  not  only  laid  open  the  doings  of  others,  but  con- 
victed himself  of  the  same  acts.  Is  it  not,  then,  a  miserable 
inference,  to  conclude  from  the  same  works  that  the  one  is  God 
and  the  others  sorcerers  *?  Why  ought  the  others,  because  of 
these  acts,  to  be  accounted  wicked  rather  than  this  man,  seeing 
they  have  him  as  their  witness  against  himself  ?  For  he  has 
himself  acknowledged  that  these  are  not  the  works  of  a  divine 
nature,  but  the  inventions  of  certain  deceivers,  and  of  thoroughly 
wicked  men."  Observe,  now,  whether  Celsus  is  not  clearly 
convicted  of  slandering  the  gospel  by  such  statements,  since 
what  Jesus  says  reiiardins;  those  who  are  to  work  si£i;ns  and 
wonders  is  different  from  what  this  Jew  of  Celsus  alleges  it  to 
be.  For  if  Jesus  had  simply  told  His  disciples  to  be  on  their 
guard  against  those  who  professed  to  work  miracles,  without 
declaring  what  they  would  give  themselves  out  to  be,  then 
perhaps  there  would  have  been  some  ground  for  his  suspicion. 
But  since  those  against  whom  Jesus  would  have  us  to  be  on  our 
guard  give  themselves  out  as  the  Christ — which  is  not  a  claim 
put  forth  by  sorcerers — and  since  he  says  that  even  some  who 
lead  wicked  lives  will  perform  miracles  in  the  name  of  Jesus, 
and  expel  demons  out  of  men,  sorcery  in  the  case  of  these 
individuals,  or  any  suspicion  of  such,  is  rather,  if  we  may  so 

1  Matt.  xxiv.  23-27. 

2  Cf.  Matt.  Tii.  22,  23,  with  Luke  xiii.  26,  27. 


52  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Booe  ir. 

speak,  altogether  banished,  and  the  divinity  of  Christ  established, 
as  well  as  the  divine  mission^  of  His  disciples ;  seeing  that  it  is 
possible  that  one  who  makes  use  of  His  name,  and  Avho  is 
wrought  upon  by  some  power,  in  some  way  unknown,  to  make 
the  pretence  that  he  is  the  Christ,  should  seem  to  perform 
miracles  like  those  of  Jesus,  while  others  through  His  name 
should  do  works  resembling  those  of  His  genuine  disciples. 

Chapter  l. 

Paul,  moreover,  in  the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians, 
shows  in  what  manner  there  will  one  day  be  revealed  ^'  the  man 
of  sin,  the  son  of  perdition,  who  opposeth  and  exalteth  himself 
above  all  that  is  called  God,  or  that  is  worshipped ;  so  that  he 
sitteth  in  the  temple  of  God,  showing  himself  that  he  is  God."  "^ 
And  again  he  says  to  the  Thessalonians  :  "  And  now  ye  know 
what  witliholdeth  that  he  might  be  revealed  in  his  time.  For 
the  mystery  of  iniquity  doth  already  work  :  only  He  who  now 
letteth  will  let,  until  he  be  taken  out  of  the  way  :  and  then 
shall  that  Wicked  be  revealed,  whom  the  Lord  will  consume 
with  the  spirit  of  His  mouth,  and  shall  destroy  with  the  bright- 
ness of  His  coming :  even  him,  whose  coming  is  after  the  work- 
ing of  Satan,  with  all  power,  and  signs,  and  lying  wonders,  and 
with  all  deceivableness  of  unrighteousness  in  them  that  perish."^ 
And  in  assigning  the  reason  why  the  man  of  sin  is  permitted  to 
continue  in  existence,  he  says  :  "  Because  tliey  received  not  the 
love  of  the  truth,  that  they  might  be  saved.  And  for  this  cause 
God  shall  send  them  strong  delusion,  that  they  should  believe  a 
lie ;  that  they  all  might  be  damned  who  believed  not  the  truth, 
but  had  pleasure  in  unrighteousness."*  Let  any  one  now  say 
whether  any  of  the  statements  in  the  Gospel,  or  in  the  writings 
of  the  apostle,  could  give  occasion  for  the  suspicion  that  there  is 
therein  contained  any  prediction  of  sorcery.  Any  one,  more- 
over, who  likes  may  find  the  prophecy  in  Daniel  respecting 
antichrist.^  But  Celsus  falsifies  the  words  of  Jesus,  since  He 
did  not  say  that  others  would  come  working  similar  miracles  to 
Himself,  but  Avho  are  wicked  men  and  sorcerers,  although 
Celsus  asserts  that  He  uttered  such  words.     For  as  the  power 

1  Sitirr.;,  lit.  divinity.  2  2  Thess.  ii.  3,  4.  3  2  Thess.  ii.  G-10. 

*  2  Thess.  ii.  10-12.  ^  Cf.  Dan.  vii.  26. 


Book  ii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  53 

of  the  Eiiyptian  magicians  was  not  similar  to  tho  divinely- 
bestowed  grace  of  Moses,  but  the  issue  clearly  proved  that  the 
acts  of  the  former  were  the  effect  of  magic,  while  those  of 
Moses  were  wrought  by  divine  power ;  so  the  proceedings  of 
the  antichrists,  and  of  those  who  feign  that  they  can  work 
miracles  as  being  the  disciples  of  Christ,  are  said  to  be  lying 
signs  and  wonders,  prevailing  with  all  deceivableness  of  un- 
righteousness among  them  that  perish ;  whereas  the  works  of 
Christ  and  His  disciples  had  for  their  fruit,  not  deceit,  but 
the  salvation  of  human  souls.  And  who  would  rationally 
maintain  that  an  improved  moral  life,  which  daily  lessened  the 
number  of  a  man's  offences,  could  proceed  from  a  system  of 
deceit  ? 

Chapter  lt. 
Celsus,    indeed,    evinced    a    slight   knowledge  of    Scripture 
when  he  made  Jesus  say,  that  it  is  "  a  certain  Satan  who  con- 
trives such  devices  ; "  although  he  begs  the  question  ^  when  he 
asserts  that  "  Jesus  did  not  deny  that  these  works  have  in  them 
nothing  of  divinity,   but  proceed  from  wicked  men,"  for  he 
makes  things  which  differ  in  kind  to  be  the  same.     Now,  as  a 
wolf  is  not  of  the  same  species  as  a  dog,  although  it  may  appear 
to  have  some  resemblance  in  the  figure  of  its  body  and  in  its 
voice,  nor  a  common  wood-pigeon^  the  same  as  a  dove,^  so  there 
is  no  resemblance  between  what  is  done  by  the  power  of  God 
and  what  is  the  effect  of  sorcery.     And  we  might  further  say, 
in  answer  to  the  calumnies  of  Celsus,  Are  those  to  be  regarded 
as  miracles  which  are  wrought  through  sorcery  by  wicked  demons, 
but  those  not  which  are  performed  by  a  nature  that  is  holy  and 
divine  ?    and    does  human   life  endure  the   worse,   but   never 
receive  the  better  ?     Now  it  appears  to  me  that  we  must  lay  it 
down  as  a  general  principle,  that  as,  wherever  anything  that  is 
levil  would  make  itself  to  be  of  the  same  nature  with  the  good, 
'there  must  by  all  means  be  something  that  is  good  opposed  to 
1  the  evil ;  so  also,  in  opposition  to  those  things  which  are  brought 
[  about  by  sorcery,  there  must  also  of  necessity  be  some  things 
'  in  human  life  which  are  the  result  of  divine  power.     And  it 
follows  from  the  same,  that  we  must  either  annihilate  both,  and 
assert  that  neither  exists,  or,  assuming  the  one,  and  particularly 


54  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

the  evil,  admit  also  the  reality  of  the  good.  Now,  if  one  were 
to  lay  it  down  that  works  are  wrought  by  means  of  sorcery,  but 
would  not  grant  that  there  are  also  works  which  are  the  pro- 
duct of  divine  power,  he  would  seem  to  me  to  resemble  him 
who  should  admit  the  existence  of  sophisms  and  plausible  argu- 
ments, which  have  the  appearance  of  establishing  the  truth, 
although  really  undermining  it,  while  denying  that  truth  had 

(anywhere  a  home  among  men,  or  a  dialectic  which  differed  from 
sophistry.  But  if  we  once  admit  that  it  is  consistent  with  the 
existence  of  magic  and  sorcery  (which  derive  their  power  from 
evil  demons,  who  are  spell-bound  by  elaborate  incantations,  and 
become  subject  to  sorcerers)  that  some  works  must  be  found 

1  among  men  which  proceed  from  a  power  that  is  divine,  why 
shall  we  not  test  those  who  profess  to  perform  them  by  their 

j  lives  and  morals,  and  the  consequences  of  their  miracles,  viz. 

)  whether  they  tend  to  the  injury  of  men  or  to  the  reformation 
of  conduct  ?  What  minister  of  evil  demons,  e.g.,  can  do  such 
things  ?  and  by  means  of  what  incantations  and  magic  arts  ? 
And  who,  on  the  other  hand,  is  it  that,  having  his  soul  and  his 
spirit,  and  I  imagine  also  his  body,  in  a  pure  and  holy  state, 
receives  a  divine  spirit,  and  performs  such  works  in  order  to 
benefit  men,  and  to  lead  them  to  believe  on  the  true  God? 

'jBut  if  we  must  once  investigate  (without  being  carried  away 
;by  the  miracles  themselves)  who  it  is  that  performs  them  by 

':  help  of  a  good,  and  who  by  help  of  an  evil  power,  so  that  we 
may  neither  slander  all  without  discrimination,  nor  yet  admire 
and  accept  all  as  divine,  will  it  not  be  manifest,  from  what 
occurred  in  the  times  of  Moses  and  Jesus,  when  entire  nations 
were  established  in  consequence  of  their  miracles,  that  these 

!  men  wrought  by  means  of  divine  power  what  they  are  recorded 
to  have  performed  ?  For  wickedness  and  sorcery  would  not 
have  led  a  whole  nation  to  rise  not  only  above  idols  and  images 
erected  by  men,  but  also  above  all  created  things,  and  to  ascend 
to  the  uncreated  origin  of  the  God  of  the  universe. 

Chapter  lii. 

But  since  it  is  a  Jew  who  makes  these  assertions  in  the 
treatise  of  Celsus,  we  would  say  to  him :  Pray,  friend,  why  do 
you  believe  the  works  which  are  recorded  in  your  writings  as 


BooE  II.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  55 

having  been  performed  by  God  through  the  instrumentality  of 
Moses  to  be  really  divine,  and  endeavour  to  refute  those  who 
slanderously  assert  that  they  were  wrought  by  sorcery,  like 
those  of  the  Egyptian  magicians ;  while,  in  imitation  of  your 
Egyptian  opponents,  you  charge  those  which  were  done  by 
Jesus,  and  which,  you  admit,  Avere  actually  performed,  with  not 
being  divine  ?  For  if  the  final  result,  and  the  founding  of  an 
entire  nation  by  the  miracles  of  Moses,  manifestly  demonstrate 
that  it  was  God  who  brought  these  things  to  pass  in  the  time  of 
Moses  the  Hebrew  lawgiver,  why  should  not  such  rather  be 
shown  to  be  the  case  with  Jesus,  who  accomplished  far  greater 
works  than  those  of  Moses  ?  For  the  former  took  those  of  his 
own  nation,  the  descendants  of  Abraham,  who  had  observed 
the  rite  of  circumcision  transmitted  by  tradition,  and  who  were 
careful  observers  of  the  Abrahamic  usages,  and  led  them  out 
of  Egypt,  enacting  for  them  those  laws  which  you  believe  to 
be  divine ;  whereas  the  latter  ventured  upon  a  greater  under- 
taking, and  superinduced  upon  the  pre-existing  constitution, 
and  upon  ancestral  customs  and  modes  of  life  agreeable  to  the 
existing  laws,  a  constitution  in  conformity  with  the  gospel. 
And  as  it  was  necessary,  in  order  that  Moses  should  find  credit 
not  only  among  the  elders,  but  the  common  people,  that  there 
should  be  performed  those  miracles  which  he  is  recorded  to 
have  performed,  why  should  not  Jesus  also,  in  order  that  He 
may  be  believed  on  by  those  of  the  people  who  had  learned  to 
ask  for  signs  and  wonders,  require  to  work  such  miracles  as,  on 
account  of  their  greater  grandeur  and  divinity  (in  comparison 
with  those  of  jMoses),  were  able  to  convert  men  from  Jewish 
fables,  and  from  the  human  traditions  which  prevailed  among 
them,  and  make  them  admit  that  He  who  taught  and  did  such 
things  was  greater  than  the  prophets  ?  For  how  was  not  He 
greater  than  tlie  prophets,  who  was  proclaimed  by  them  to  be 
the  Christ,  and  the  Saviour  of  the  human  race  ? 

Chapter  liii. 

All  the  arguments,  indeed,  which  this  Jew  of  Celsus  ad- 
vances against  those  who  believe  on  Jesus,  may,  by  parity  of 
reasoning,  be  urged  as  ground  of  accusation  against  Moses  :  so 
that  there  is  no  difference  in  asserting  that  the  sorcery  prac- 


o6  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

tisecl  by  Jesus  and  that  by  Moses  we're  similar  to  each  other/ — 
both  of  tliem,  so  far  as  the  language  of  this  Jew  of  Celsus  is 
concerned,  being  liable  to  the  same  charge  ;  as,  e.g.,  when  this 
Jew  says  of  Christ,  "  But,  O  light  and  truth  !  Jesus  with  his 
own  voice  expressly  declares,  as  you  yourselves  have  recorded, 
that  there  will  appear  among  you  others  also,  who  will  perform 
miracles  like  mine,  but  who  are  wicked  men  and  sorcerers," 
some  one,  either  Greek  or  Egyptian,  or  any  other  party  who 
disbelieved  the  Jew,  might  say  respecting  jNIoses,  "  But,  O 
light  and  truth  !  !Moses  with  his  own  voice  expressly  declares, 
as  ye  also  have  recorded,  that  there  will  appear  among  you 
others  also,  who  will  perform  miracles  like  mine,  but  who  are 
wicked  men  and  sorcerers.  For  it  is  written  in  your  law,  '  If 
there  arise  among  you  a  prophet,  or  a  dreamer  of  dreams,  and 
giveth  thee  a  sign  or  a  wonder,  and  the  sign  or  wonder  come  to 
pass  whereof  he  spake  unto  thee,  saying.  Let  us  go  after  other 
gods  which  thou  hast  not  known,  and  let  us  serve  them  ;  thou 
shalt  not  hearken  to  the  words  of  that  prophet  or  dreamer  of 
dreams,'  ""  etc.  Again,  perverting  the  words  of  Jesus,  he  says, 
"  And  he  terms  him  who  devises  such  things,  one  Satan ;"  while 
one,  applying  this  to  Moses,  might  say,  "  And  he  terms  him 
who  devises  such  things,  a  prophet  who  dreams  dreams."  And 
as  this  Jew  asserts  regarding  Jesus,  that  "  even  he  himself 
does  not  deny  that  these  works  have  in  them  nothing  of  divi- 
nity, but  are  the  acts  of  wicked  men ;"  so  any  one  who  disbe- 
lieves the  writings  of  Moses  might  say,  quoting  what  has  been 
already  said,  the  same  thing,  viz.,  that  ''  even  ISIoses  does  not 
deny  that  these  works  have  in  them  nothing  of  divinity,  but  are 
the  acts  of  wicked  men."  And  he  will  do  the  same  thing  also 
with  respect  to  this  :  "  Being  coinpelled  by  the  force  of  truth, 
Moses  at  the  same  time  both  exposed  the  doings  of  others,  and 
convicted  himself  of  the  same."  And  when  the  Jew  says, 
"  Is  it  not  a  wretched  inference  from  the  same  acts,  to  con- 
clude that  the  one  is  a  God,  and  the  others  sorcerers'?"  one 
might  object  to  him,  on  the  ground  of  those  words  of  Moses 
already  quoted,    "  Is   it  not  then  a  wretched   inference  from 

^  Zars   yy/,Oiv    otaC^ipitv    7r«f«^>iSj(7/ov   tivui    >tyr/>   yry/j-iiciv  r'f.v     lr,'soZ  t7, 
-  Deut.  xiii.  1-3. 


Book  u.]  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  57 

the  same  acts,  to  conclude  that  the  one  is  a  prophet  and  servant 
of  God,  and  the  others  sorcerers  ?  "  But  when,  in  addition  to 
those  comparisons  which  I  have  already  mentioned,  Celsus, 
dwelling  upon  the  subject,  adduces  this  also  :  "  Why  from 
these  works  sliould  the  others  be  accounted  wicked,  rather  tliaa 
this  man,  seeing  they  have  him  as  a  witness  against  himself?" 
— we,  too,  shall  adduce  the  following,  in  addition  to  what  has 
been  already  said :  "  Why,  from  those  passages  in  wliich  Moses 
forbids  us  to  believe  those  who  exhibit  sicrns  and  wonders,  oucrlit 
we  to  consider  such  persons  as  wicked,  rather  than  Moses, 
because  he  calumniates  some  of  them  in  respect  of  their  signs 
and  wonders?"  And  urging  more  to  the  same  effect,  that  he 
may  appear  to  strengthen  his  attempt,  he  says  :  "  He  himself 
acknowledged"  that  these  w^ere  not  the  works  of  a  divine  nature, 
but  were  the  inventions  of  certain  deceivers,  and  of  very  wicked 
men."  Who,  then,  is  "himself?"  You,  O  Jew,  say  that  it 
is  Jesus ;  but  he  who  accuses  you  as  liable  to  the  same  charges, 
will  transfer  this  "  himself"  to  the  person  of  Moses. 

Chapter  liv. 

After  this,  forsooth,  the  Jew  of  Celsus,  to  keep  up  the 
character  assigned  to  the  Jew  from  the  beginning,  in  his 
address  to  those  of  his  countrymen  who  had  become  believers, 
says  :  "  By  what,  then,  were  you  induced  [to  become  his  fol- 
lowers] ?  Was  it  because  he  foretold  that  after  his  death  he 
would  rise  again?"  Now  this  question,  like  the  others,  can  be 
retorted  upon  Moses.  For  we  might  say  to  the  Jew  :  "  By 
what,  then,  were  you  induced  [to  become  the  follower  of 
Moses]  ?  Was  it  because  he  put  on  record  the  following  state- 
ment about  his  own  death  :  '  And  Moses,  the  servant  of  the 
Lord,  died  there,  in  the  land  of  Moab,  according  to  the  word 
of  the  Lord ;  and  they  buried  him  in  Moab,  near  the  house  of 
Phogor:  and  no  one  knoweth  his  sepulchre  until  this  day?'"^ 
For  as  the  Jew  casts  discredit  upon  the  statement,  that  "Jesus 
foretold  that  after  His  death  He  would  rise  again,"  another 
person  might  make  a  similar  assertion  about  Moses,  and  would 
say  in  reply,  that  INIoses  also  put  on  record  (for  the  book  of 
Deuteronomy  is  his  composition)  the  statement,  that  "  no  one 
^  Cf.  Deut.  xxxiv.  5,  6. 


58  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

knowetli  his  sepulchre  until  this  day/'  in  order  to  magnify  and 
enhance  the  importance  of  his  place  of  burial,  as  being  un- 
known to  mankind. 

Chapter  lv. 

The  Jew  continues  his  address  to  those  of  his  countrymen 
who  are  converts,  as  follows  :  "  Come  now,  let  us  grant  to  you 
that  the  prediction  was  actually  uttered.  Yet  how  many  others 
are  there  who  practise  such  juggling  tricks,  in  order  to  deceive 
their  simple  hearers,  and  who  make  gain  by  their  deception  ? — 
as  was  the  case,  they  say,  with  Zamolxis^  in  Scythia,  the  slave 
of  Pythagoras  ;  and  with  Pythagoras  himself  in  Italy ;  and  with 
Ehampsiuitus^  in  Egypt  (the  latter  of  whom,  they  say,  played 
at  dice  with  Demeter  in  Hades,  and  returned  to  the  upper 
world  with  a  golden  napkin  which  he  had  received  from  her  as 
a  gift)  ;  and  also  with  Orpheus^  among  the  Odrysians,  and 
Protesilaus  in  Thessaly,  and  Hercules*  at  Cape  Ta3narus,  and 
Theseus.  But  the  question  is,  whether  any  one  who  was  really  -yC 
dead  ever  rose  with  a  veritable  body.^  Or  do  you  imagine  the 
statements  of  others  not  only  to  be  myths,  but  to  have  the 
appearance  of  such,  while  you  have  discovered  a  becoming  and 
credible  termination  to  your  drama  in  the  voice  from  the  cross, 
when  he  breathed  his  last,  and  in  the  earthquake  and  the  dark- 
ness ?  That  while  alive  he  was  of  no  assistance  to  himself, 
but  that  when  dead  he  rose  again,  and  showed  the  marks  of 
his  punishment,  and  how  his  hands  were  pierced  with  nails  : 
who  beheld  this  ?  A  half-frantic^  woman,  as  you  state,  and 
some  other  one,  perhaps,  of  those  who  were  engaged  in  the 
same  system  of  delusion,  who  had  either  dreamed  so,  owing  to 
a  peculiar  state  of  mind,^  or  under  the  influence  of  a  wandering 
imagination  had  formed  to  himself  an  appearance  according  to 
his  own  wishes,^  which  has  been  the  case  with  numberless 
individuals ;  or,  which  is  most  probable,  one  who  desired  to 
impress  others  with  this  portent,  and  by  such  a  falsehood  to 
furnish  an  occasion  to  impostors  like  himself." 

1  Cf.  Herodot.  iv.  95.  2  cf.  Herodot.  ii.  122. 

3  Cf.  Diodor.  iv.  Bihl.  Hist.  *  Cf.  Diodor.  iv.  Blbl.  Hist. 

'^  etvru  aojf'.oiTi.  "  yvvri  TrxpoKTrpo^.  "  Kurcc  Ttv»  ZiccSiaiv  ovupat^as. 

^  ij  Kurci,  T'/ii/  ui/TOtJ  fiov7\nuti>  oo|)i  ;7£wAa;//7,Ki:/jj  Cpx'JTciaiuhi';, 


Book  ii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  59 

Now,  since  it  is  a  Jew  who  makes  these  statements,  wc  shall 
conduct  the  defence  of  our  Jesus  as  if  we  were  replying  to  a 
Jew,  still  continuing  the  comparison  derived  from  the  accounts 
regarding  Moses,  and  saying  to  him :  "  How  many  others  ai'e 
there  who  practise  similar  juggling  tricks  to  those  of  Moses,  in 
order  to  deceive  their  silly  hearers,  and  who  make  gain  by  their 
deception  ?"  Now  this  objection  would  be  more  appropriate  in 
the  mouth  of  one  who  did  not  believe  in  Moses  (as  we  might 
quote  the  instances  of  Zamolxis  and  Pythagoras,  who  were 
engaged  in  such  juggling  tricks)  than  in  that  of  a  Jew,  who  is 
not  very  learned  in  the  histories  of  the  Greeks.  An  Egyptian, 
moreover,  who  did  not  believe  the  miracles  of  Moses,  might 
credibly  adduce  the  instance  of  Ehampsinitus,  saying  that  it  was 
far  more  credible  that  he  had  descended  to  Hades,  and  had 
played  at  dice  with  Demeter,  and  that  after  stealing  from  her 
a  golden  napkin  he  exhibited  it  as  a  sign  of  his  having  been  in 
Hades,  and  of  his  having  returned  thence,  than  that  Moses 
should  have  recorded  that  he  entered  into  the  darkness,  where 
God  was,  and  that  he  alone,  above  all  others,  drew  near  to  God. 
For  the  following  is  his  statement :  "  Moses  alone  shall  come 
near  the  Lord ;  but  the  rest  shall  not  come  nigh."^  We,  then, 
who  are  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  say  to  the  Jew  who  urges  these 
objections  :  "  While  assailing  our  belief  in  Jesus,  defend  your- 
self, and  answer  the  Egyptian  and  the  Greek  objectors  :  what 
will  you  say  to  those  charges  which  you  brought  against  our 
Jesus,  but  which  also  mioht  be  brousrht  against  Moses  first  ? 
And  if  you  should  make  a  vigorous  effort  to  defend  Moses, 
as  indeed  his  history  does  admit  of  a  clear  and  powerful 
defence,  you  will  unconsciously,  in  your  support  of  Moses,  be 
an  unwilling  assistant  in  establishing  the  greater  divinity  of 
Jesus." 

Chapter  lvi. 

But  since  the  Jew  says  that  these  histories  of  the  alleged 
descent  of  heroes  to  Hades,  and  of  their  return  thence,  are 
jufjgling    impositions,^   maintaining   that   these   heroes    disap- 
peared for  a  certain  time,  and  secretly  withdrew  themselves  from 
1  Cf.  Ex.  xxiv.  2. 


60  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ir. 

the  sight  of  all  men,  and  gave  themselves  out  afterwards  as 
havhig  returned  from  Hades, — for  such  is  the  meaning  which 
his  words  seem  to  convey  respecting  the  Odrysian  Orpheus,  and 
the  Thessalian  Protesilaus,  and  the  Teenarian  Hercules,  and 
Theseus  also, — let  us  endeavour  to  show  that  the  account  of 
Jesus  being  raised  from  the  dead  cannot  possibly  be  compared 
to  these.  For  each  one  of  the  heroes  respectively  mentioned 
might,  had  he  wished,  have  secretly  withdrawn  himself  from 
the  sight  of  men,  and  returned  again,  if  so  determined,  to  those 
whom  he  had  left ;  but  seeing  that  Jesus  was  crucified  before 
all  the  Jews,  and  His  body  slain  in  the  presence  of  His  nation, 
how  can  they  bring  themselves  to  say  that  He  practised  a 
similar  deception^  with  those  heroes  who  are  related  to  have 
gone  down  to  Hades,  and  to  have  returned  thence  ?  But  we 
say  that  the  following  consideration  might  be  adduced,  perhaps, 
as  a  defence  of  the  public  crucifixion  of  Jesus,  especially  in 
connection  with  the  existence  of  those  stories  of  heroes  w'ho  are 
supposed  to  have  been  compelled"  to  descend  to  Hades  :  that 
if  we  were  to  suppose  Jesus  to  have  died  an  obscure  death,  so 
that  the  fact  of  His  decease  was  not  patent  to  the  whole  nation 
of  the  Jews,  and  afterwards  to  have  actually  risen  from  the 
dead,  there  would,  in  such  a  case,  have  been  ground  for  the  same 
suspicion  entertained  regarding  the  heroes  being  also  enter- 
tained regarding  Himself.  Probably,  then,  in  addition  to  other 
causes  for  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus,  this  also  may  have  con- 
tributed to  His  dying  a  conspicuous  death  upon  the  cross,  that 
no  one  might  have  it  in  his  power  to  say  that  He  voluntarily 
withdrew  from  the  sight  of  men,  and  seemed  only  to  die,  with- 
out really  doing  so ;  but,  appearing  again,  made  a  juggler's 
trick^  of  the  resurrection  from  the  dead.  But  a  clear  and  un- 
mistakeable  proof  of  the  fact  I  hold  to  be  the  undertaking  of 
His  disciples,  who  devoted  themselves  to  the  teaching  of  a 
doctrine  which  was  attended  with  danger  to  human  life, — a 
doctrine  which  they  would  not  have  taught  with  such  courage 
had  they  invented  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  from  the  dead ; 

^  -^u;  o'io'jTcci  r'o  TrxpcfTrTi'/iaiuv  'z'hcvsu.odui  "Ki'/itv  uOrov  tqI;   iaropovfiivoii, 

etc. 

^  y.cirx:3iilr,y-i:/cii  (itx.     Bolicreau  proposes  the  omission  of  (iiu. 

"   iTipUTSVGUTO, 


Book  ii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  Gl 

and  who  also,  at  the  same  time,  not  only  prepared  others  to 
despise  death,  but  were  themselves  the  first  to  manifest  their 
disregard  for  its  terrors. 

Chapter  lvii. 

But  observe  whether  this  Jew  of  Celsns  does  not  talk  very 
blindly,  in  saying  that  it  is  impossible  for  any  one  to  rise  from 
the  dead  with  a  veritable  body,  his  language  being  :  "  But  this 
is  the  question,  whether  any  one  who  was  really  dead  ever  rose 
again  with  a  veritable  body?"  Now  a  Jew  would  not  have 
uttered  these  words,  who  believed  what  is  recorded  in  the  third 
and  fourth  books  of  Kings  regarding  little  children,  of  whom 
the  one  was  raised  up  by  Elijah,^  and  the  other  by  Elisha." 
And  on  this  account,  too,  I  think  it  was  that  Jesus  appeared  to 
no  other  nation  than  the  Jews,  who  had  become  accustomed 
to  miraculous  occurrences ;  so  that,  by  comparing  what  they 
themselves  believed  with  the  works  which  were  done  by  Him, 
and  with  wdiat  was  related  of  Him,  they  might  confess  that 
He,  in  regard  to  whom  greater  things  were  done,  and  by  whom 
mightier  marvels  were  performed,  was  greater  than  all  those 
who  preceded  Him. 

Chapter  lviii. 

Further,  after  these  Greek  stories  which  the  Jew  adduced 
respecting  those  who  were  guilty  of  juggling  practices,^  and 
who  pretended  to  have  risen  from  the  dead,  he  saj's  to  those 
Jews  who  are  converts  to  Christianity  :  '•  Do  you  imagine  the 
statements  of  others  not  only  to  be  myths,  but  to  have  the 
appearance  of  such,  while  you  have  discovered  a  becoming  and 
credible  termination  to  your  drama  in  the  voice  from  the  cross, 
when  he  breathed  his  last?"  We  reply  to  the  Jew  :  "What 
you  adduce  as  myths,  we  regard  also  as  such  ;  but  the  state- 
ments of  the  Scriptures  which  are  common  to  us  both,  in  which 
not  you  only,  but  we  also,  take  pride,  we  do  not  at  all  regard  as 
myths.  And  therefore  we  accord  our  belief  to  those  who  have 
therein  related  that  some  rose  from  the  dead,  as  not  being 
guilty  of  imposition  ;  and  to  Him  especially  there  mentioned 
1  Cf.  1  Kings  xvii.  21,  22.  ~  Cf.  2  Kings  iv.  3i,  35. 


TiOcn-'JOUiUOlC 


62  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ir. 

as  having  risen,  who  botli  px'edicted  the  event  Himself,  and 
was  the  subject  of  prediction  by  others.  And  His  resurrection 
is  more  miraculous  than  that  of  the  others  in  this  respect,  that 
they  were  raised  by  the  prophets  Elijah  and  Elisha,  while  He 
was  raised  by  none  of  the  prophets,  but  by  His  Father  in 
heaven.  And  therefore  His  resurrection  also  produced  greater 
results  than  theirs.  For  what  great  good  has  accrued  to  the 
world  from  the  resurrection  of  the  children  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  Elijah  and  Elisha,  such  as  has  resulted  from  the 
preaching  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  accepted  as  an  article 
of  belief,  and  as  effected  through  the  agency  of  divine 
power  ?  " 

Chapter  lix. 

He  imagines  also  that  both  the  earthquake  and  the  darkness 
were  an  invention  ;^  but  regarding  these,  we'  have  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages  made  our  defence,  according  to  our  ability,  ad- 
ducing the  testimony  of  Phlegon,  who  relates  that  these  events 
took  place  at  the  time  when  our  Saviour  suffered.  And  he 
goes  on  to  say,  that  ^'  Jesus,  while  alive,  was  of  no  assistance  to 
himself,  but  that  he  arose  after  death,  and  exhibited  the  marks 
of  his  punishment,  and  showed  how  his  hands  had  been  pierced 
by  nailsi"  We  ask  him  what  he  means  by  the  expression,  "  was 
of  no  assistance  to  himself?  "  For  if  he  means  it  to  refer  to  want 
of  virtue,  we  reply  that  He  ivas  of  very  great  assistance.  For 
He  neither  uttered  nor  committed  anything  that  was  improper, 
but  was  truly  •'  led  as  a  sheep  to  the  slaughter,  and  was  dumb 
as  a  Iamb  before  the  shearer;"^  and  the  Gospel  testifies  that  He 
opened  not  His  mouth.  But  if  Celsus  applies  the  expression 
to  things  indifferent  and  corporeal,^  [meaning  that  in  such 
Jesus  could  render  no  help  to  Himself,]  we  say  that  we  have 
proved  from  the  Gospels  that  He  went  voluntarily  to  encounter 
His  sufferings.  Speaking  next  of  the  statements  in  the  Gospels, 
that  after  His  resurrection  He  showed  the  marks  of  His  punish- 
ment, and  how  His  hands  had  been  pierced,  he  asks,  "  Who 
beheld  this?"  And  discrediting  the  narrative  of  Mary  Mag- 
dalene, who  is  related  to  have  seen  Him,  he  replies,  "  A  half- 
^  T=pciTstctv.  ^  Isa.  liii.  7. 

'  ti  "hi  TO  "  tTTTipKealU^^  oItTO  TUV  [/.idUV  X.XI   (TUfiUTlKUl/  "holfi^UUit. 


I 


Book  ir.]  OllIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  63 

frantic  woman,  as  ye  state."  And  because  she  is  not  the  only 
cue  who  is  recorded  to  have  seen  the  Saviour  after  His  resur- 
rection, but  others  also  are  mentioned,  this  Jew  of  Celsus 
calumniates  these  statements  also  in  adding,  "  And  some  one 
else  of  those  engaged  in  the  same  system  of  deception !" 

Chapter  lx. 

In  the  next  place,  as  if  this  were  possible,  viz.  that  the  image 
of  a  man  who  was  dead  could  appear  to  another  as  if  he  were 
still  living,  he  adopts  this  opinion  as  an  Epicurean,  and  says, 
"  That  some  one  having  so  dreamed  owing  to  a  peculiar  state 
of  mind,  or  having,  under  the  influence  of  a  perverted  imagi- 
nation, formed  such  an  appearance  as  he  himself  desired,  re- 
ported that  such  had  been  seen  ;  and  this,"  he  continues,  "  has 
been  the  case  with  numberless  individuals."  But  even  if  this 
statement  of  his  seems  to  have  a  considerable  degree  of  force, 
it  is  nevertheless  only  fitted  to  confirm  a  necessary  doctrine, 
that  the  soul  of  the  dead  exists  in  a  separate  state  [from  the 
body]  ;  and  he  who  adopts  such  an  opinion  does  not  believe 
without  good  reason  in  the  immortality,  or  at  least  continued 
existence,  of  the  soul,  as  even  Plato  says  in  his  treatise  on  the 
Soul  that  shadowy  phantoms  of  persons  already  dead  have  ap- 
peared to  some  around  their  sepulchres.  Now  the  phantoms 
which  exist  about  the  soul  of  the  dead  are  produced  by  some 
substance,  and  this  substance  is  in  the  soul,  which  exists  apart 
in  a  body  said  to  be  of  splendid  appearance.-^  But  Celsus,  un- 
willing to  admit  any  such  view,  will  have  it  that  some  dreamed 
a  waking  dream,^  and,  under  the  influence  of  a  perverted  ima- 
gination, formed  to  themselves  such  an  image  as  they  desired. 
Now  it  is  not  irrational  to  believe  that  a  dream  may  take  place 
while  one  is  asleep ;  but  to  suppose  a  waking  vision  in  the  case 
of  those  who  are  not  altogether  out  of  their  senses,  and  under 
the  influence  of  delirium  or  hypochondria,  is  incredible.  And 
Celsus,  seeing  this,  called  the  woman  "half-mad," — a  state- 
ment which  is  not  made  by  the  history  recording  the  fact,  but 

^  roc  fih  ouv  yivofisvx  Trspl  '•j/v^'ij?  Ti&v/iKorav  (puvTua^ucirct  oLtto  rivog  vtto- 
icstfiivov  "/i'vsrcii,  rov  actTcc  t'/Ji/  v(picirY]x,vixv  iv  rui  au'hovfiiua  auyonOu  auuxri 
"t^vx^iv.     Cf.  note  m  Benedictine  ed. 

^  vTrap. 


64  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

from  which  he  took  occasion  to  charge  the  occurrences  with 
beiiii:;  untrue. 

Chapter  lxi. 

Jesus  accordingly,  as  Celsus  imagines,  exhibited  after  His 
death  only  the  appearance  of  wounds  received  on  the  cross,  and 
was  not  in  reality  so  wounded  as  He  is  described  to  have  been ; 
whereas,  according  to  the  teaching  of  the  Gospel — some  por- 
tions of  which  Celsus  arbitrarily  accepts,  in  order  to  find  ground 
of  accusation,  and  other  parts  of  which  he  rejects — Jesus  called 
to  Him  one  of  His  disciples  who  was  sceptical,  and  who  deemed 
the  miracle  an  impossibility.  That  individual  had,  indeed,  ex- 
pressed his  belief  in  the  statement  of  the  woman  who  said  that 
she  had  seen  Him,  because  he  did  not  think  it  impossible  that 
the  soul  of  a  dead  man  could  be  seen  ;  but  he  did  not  yet  con- 
sider the  report  to  be  true  that  He  had  been  raised  in  a  body, 
Avhich  was  the  antitype  of  the  former.^  And  therefore  he  did 
not  merely  say,  "Unless  I  see,  I  will  not  believe;"  but  he  added, 
"  Unless  I  put  my  hand  into  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  lay  my 
hands  upon  His  side,  I  will  not  believe."  These  words  were 
spoken  by  Thomas,  who  deemed  it  possible  that  the  body  of 
the  soul  might  be  seen  by  the  eye  of  sense,  resembling  in  all 
respects  its  former  appearance, 

"  Both  in  size,  and  in  beauty  of  eyes, 
And  in  voice  ;" 

and  frequently,  too, 

"  Having,  also,  sucli  garments  aroiind  the  person'  [as  when  alive]." 

Jesus  accordingly,  having  called  Thomas,  said,  "  Reach  hither 
thy  finger,  and  behold  my  hands;  and  reach  hither  thy  hand, 
and  thrust  it  into  my  side  :  and  be  not  faithless,  but  believ- 
ing."* 

Chapter  lxii. 

Now  it  followed  from  all  the  predictions  which  were  uttered 
recardino-  Him — 'amono-st  which  was  this  prediction  of  the 
resurrection — and  from  all  that  was  done  by  Him,  and  from 

3  Cf.  Homer,  Iliad,  xxiii.  <^^,  67.  *  Cf.  John  xx.  27. 


Book  ii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  G5 

all  the  events  which  befell  Ilim,  that  this  event  should  be 
marvellous  above  all  others.  For  it  had  been  said  beforehand 
by  the  prophet  in  the  person  of  Jesus  :  "  ^ly  flesh  shall  rest  in 
hope,  and  Thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  Hades,  and  wilt  not 
suffer  Thine  Holy  One  to  see  corruption."  ^  And  truly,  after 
His  resurrection.  He  existed  in  a  body  intermediate,  as  it  were, 
between  the  grossness  of  that  which  Pie  had  before  His  suffer- 
ings, and  the  appearance  of  a  soul  uncovered  by  such  a  body. 
And  hence  it  was,  that  when  His  disciples  were  together,  and 
Thomas  with  them,  there  "  came  Jesus,  the  doors  being  shut, 
and  stood  in  the  midst,  and  said,  Peace  be  unto  you.  Then 
saitli  He  to  Thomas,  Reach  hither  thy  finger,"  ^  etc.  And  in 
the  Gospel  of  Luke  also,  while  Simon  and  Cleopas  were  con- 
versing with  each  other  respecting  all  that  had  happened  to 
them,  Jesus  "  drew  near,  and  went  with  them.  And  their 
eyes  were  holden,  that  they  should  not  know  Him.  And  He 
said  unto  them,  What  manner  of  communications  are  these 
that  ye  have  one  to  another,  as  ye  walk?"  And  when  their 
eyes  were  opened,  and  they  knew  Him,  then  the  Scripture  says, 
in  express  Avords,  "And  He  vanished  out  of  their  sight." ^  And 
although  Celsus  may  wish  to  place  what  is  told  of  Jesus,  and 
of  those  who  saw  Him  after  His  resurrection,  on  the  same  level 
with  imaginary  appearances  of  a  different  kind,  and  those  who 
have  invented  such,  yet  to  those  who  institute  a  candid  and 
intelligent  examination,  the  events  will  appear  only  the  more 
miraculous. 

Chapter  lxiii. 

After  these  points,  Celsus  proceeds  to  bring  against  the 
Gospel  narrative  a  charge  which  is  not  to  be  lightly  passed 
over,  saying  that  "  if  Jesus  desired  to  show  that  his  power  was 
really  divine,  he  ought  to  have  appeared  to  those  who  had  ill- 
treated  him,  and  to  him  who  had  condemned  him,  and  to  all  men 
universally."  For  it  appears  to  us  also  to  be  true,  according 
to  the  Gospel  account,  that  He  was  not  seen  after  His  resur- 
rection in  the  same  manner  as  He  used  formerly  to  show  Him- 
self— publicly,  and  to  all  men.  But  it  is  recorded  in  the  Acts, 
that  "  being  seen  during  forty  days,"  He  expounded  to  His 

1  Ps.  xvi.  9,  10.  2  John  xx.  26,  27.  3  Lu^g  xsiv.  15,  31. 

ORIG. — VOL.  II.  E 


66  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ir, 

disciples  "  tlie  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of  God."  ^ 
And  in  the  Gospels ""  it  is  not  stated  that  He  was  always  with 
them ;  hut  that  on  one  occasion  He  appeared  in  their  midst, 
after  eight  days,  when  the  doors  were  shut,  and  on  another  in 
some  similar  fashion.  And  Paul  also,  in  the  concluding  por- 
tions of  the  first  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  in  reference  to  His 
not  having  publicly  appeared  as  He  did  in  the  period  before 
He  suffered,  writes  as  follows  :  "  For  I  delivered  unto  you  first 
of  all  that  which  I  also  received,  how  that  Christ  died  for  our 
sins  according  to  the  Scriptures ;  and  that  He  was  seen  of 
Cephas,  then  of  the  twelve  :  after  that  He  was  seen  of  above 
five  hundred  brethren  at  once,  of  whom  the  greater  part  remain 
unto  the  present  time,  but  some  are  fallen  asleep.  After  that 
He  was  seen  of  James,  then  of  all  the  apostles.  And  last  of 
all  He  was  seen  of  me  also,  as  of  one  born  out  of  due  time."  ^ 
I  am  of  opinion  now  that  the  statements  in  this,  passage  con- 
tain some  great  and  wonderful  mysteries,  which  are  beyond 
the  grasp  not  merely  of  the  great  multitude  of  ordinary  be- 
lievers, but  even  of  those  who  are  far  advanced  [in  Christian 
knowledge],  and  that  in  them  the  reason  would  be  explained 
why  He  did  not  show  Himself,  after  His  resurrection  from  the 
dead,  in  the  same  manner  as  before  that  cAent.  And  in  a 
treatise  of  this  nature,  composed  in  answer  to  a  work  directed 
against  the  Christians  and  their  faith,  observe  whether  we  are 
able  to  adduce  a  few  rational  arguments  out  of  a  greater 
number,  and  thus  make  an  impression  upon  the  hearers  of  this 
apology. 

Chapter  lxiv. 

Although  Jesus  was  only  a  single  individual,  He  was  never- 
theless more  things  than  one,  according  to  the  different  stand- 
point from  which  Pie  might  be  regarded  ;■*  nor  was  He  seen  in 
the  same  way  by  all  who  beheld  Him.  Now,  that  He  was  more 
things  than  one,  according  to  the  varying  point  of  view,  is  clear 
from  this  statement,  "  I  am  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the 
life ;"  and  from  this,  "  I  am  the  bread ;"  and  this,  '•'  I  am  the 
door,"  and  innumerable  others.     And  that  when  seen  He  did 

1  Acts  i.  3.  2  cf_  joim  xx.  26. 

'  1  Cor.  XV.  3-8.  ^  T'hiioua.  rij  imvoix  sjj*. 


Book  ir.J  OrdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  67 

not  appear  in  like  fashion  to  all  those  who  saw  Him,  but 
according  to  their  several  ability  to  receive  Him,  will  be  clear 
to  those  who  notice  why,  at  the  time  when  He  was  about  to 
be  transfigured  on  the  high  mountain,  He  did  not  admit  all 
His  apostles  [to  this  sight],  but  only  Peter,  and  James,  and 
John,  because  they  alone  were  capable  of  beholding  His  glory 
on  that  occasion,  and  of  observing  the  glorified  appearance  of 
Moses  and  Elijah,  and  of  listening  to  their  conversation,  and  to 
the  voice  from  the  heavenly  cloud.  I  am  of  opinion,  too,  that 
before  He  ascended  the  mountain  where  His  disciples  came  to 
Him  alone,  and  where  He  taught  them  the  beatitudes,  when 
He  was  somewhere  in  the  lower  part  of  the  mountain,  and 
■when,  as  it  became  late.  He  healed  those  who  were  brought  to 
Him,  freeing  them  from  all  sickness  and  disease,  He  did  not 
appear  the  same  person  to  the  sick,  and  to  those  who  needed 
His  healing  aid,  as  to  those  who  were  able  by  reason  of  their 
strength  to  go  up  the  mountain  along  with  Him.  Nay,  even 
when  He  interpreted  pi'ivately  to  His  own  disciples  the  parables 
which  were  delivered  to  the  multitudes  without,  from  whom  the 
explanation  was  withheld,  as  they  who  heard  them  explained 
were  endowed  with  highgr  organs  of  hearing  than  they  who  heard 
them  without  explanation,  so  was  it  altogether  the  same  with 
the  eyes  of  their  soul,  and,  I  think,  also  with  those  of  their  body.^ 
And  the  following  statement  shows  that  He  had  not  always  the 
same  appearance,  viz.  that  Judas,  when  about  to  betray  Him, 
said  to  the  multitudes  who  were  settincp  out  with  him,  as  not 
being  acquainted  with  Him,  "Whomsoever  I  shall  kiss,  the  same 
is  he."'  And  I  think  that  the  Saviour  Himself  indicates  the 
same  thing  by  the  words  :  "  I  was  daily  with  you,  teaching  in 
the  temple,  and  ye  laid  no  hold  on  me."  ^  Entertaining,  then, 
such  exalted  vievrs  regarding  Jesus,  not  only  with  respect  to 
the  Deity  within,  and  which  was  hidden  from  the  view  of  the 
multitude,  but  with  respect  to  the  transfiguration  of  His  body, 
which  took  place  when  and  to  whom  He  would,  we  say,  that 
before  Jesus  had  "  put  off  the  governments  and  powers,"  *  and 

ovru  y,ce.l  rctl;  o-^iat  't^oc.vtu;  fih  7^;  '4^vx,yj;,  ly^  S'  iiyoiificii,  oti  kxI  toD 

2  Matt.  xsvi.  48.  3  ^Xj^tt.  xxvi.  55. 

*  Tw  fi'4  uTTiK^vauiAivou,  etc.     Cf.  AJfopd,  in  loco  (Col.  ii  15). 


68  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Booicii. 

while  as  jet  He  was  not  dead  unto  sin,  all  men  were  capable 
of  seeing  Him ;  but  that,  when  Pie  had  "  put  off  the  govern- 
ments and  powers,"  and  had  no  longer  anything  which  was 
capable  of  being  seen  by  the  multitude,  all  who  had  formerly 
seen  Him  were  not  now  able  to  behold  Him.  And  therefore, 
sparing  them,  He  did  not  show  Himself  to  all  after  His  resur- 
rection from  the  dead. 

Chapter  lxv. 

And  why  do  I  say  "  to  all  ?  "  For  even  with  His  own 
apostles  and  disciples  He  was  not  perpetually  present,  nor  did 
He  constantly  show  Himself  to  them,  because  they  were  not  able 
without  intermission -"^  to  receive  His  divinity.  For  His  deity 
was  more  resplendent  after  He  had  finished  the  economy"  [of 
salvation]  :  and  this  Peter,  surnamed  Cephas,  the  first-fruits 
as  it  were  of  the  apostles,  was  enabled  to  behold,  and  along 
with  him  the  twelve  (Matthias  having  been  substituted  in  room 
of  Judas)  ;  and  after  them  He  appeared  to  the  five  hundred 
brethren  at  once,  and  then  to  James,  and  subsequently  to  all 
the  others  besides  the  twelve  apostles,  perhaps  to  the  seventy 
also,  and  lastly  to  Paul,  as  to  one  born  out  of  due  time,  and  who 
knew  well  how  to  say,  "  Unto  me,  who  am  less  than  the  least 
of  all  saints,  is  this  grace  given  ;"  and  probably  the  expression 
"  least  of  all "  has  the  same  meaning  with  "  one  born  out  of 
due  time."  For  as  no  one  could  reasonably  blame  Jesus  for 
not  having  admitted  all  His  apostles  to  the  high  mountain,  but 
only  the  three  already  mentioned,  on  the  occasion  of  His  trans- 
figuration, when  He  was  about  to  manifest  the  splendour  which 
appeared  in  His  garments,  and  the  glory  of  Moses  and  Elias 
talking  with  Him,  so  none  could  reasonably  object  to  the  state- 
ments of  the  apostles,  who  introduce  the  appearance  of  Jesus 
after  His  resurrection  as  having  been  made  not  to  all,  but  to 
those  only  whom  He  knew  to  have  received  eyes  capable  of 
seeing  His  resurrection.  I  think,  moreover,  that  the  following 
statement  regarding  Him  has  an  apologetic  value  '  in  reference 
to  our  subject,  viz.  :  "  For  to  this  end  Christ  died,  and  rose 
again,  that  He  mi<iht  be  Lord  both  of  the  dead  and  living."* 

•^  )Q>y,ijiuou  o'  oT/^x:  "Trpog  u.Tro'Ko'yixi/  tu'j  TTpoKHfiivuv.        *  Cf.  KoiU.  xiv.  9. 


Book  ii.]  OrJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  69 

For  observe,  it  is  conveyed  in  these  words,  that  Jesus  died 
that  He  might  be  Lord  of  the  dead ;  and  that  He  rose  again 
to  be  Lord  not  onlv  of  the  dead,  but  also  of  the  livincr.  And 
the  npostle  understands,  undoubtedly,  by  the  dead  over  whom 
Christ  is  to  be  Lord,  those  wdio  are  so  called  in  the  first 
Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  "  For  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and 
the  dead  shall  be  raised  incorruptible  ; "  '  and  by  the  living, 
those  who  are  to  be  changed,  and  who  are  different  from  the 
dead  who  are  to  be  raised.  And  respecting  the  living  the  words 
are  these,  "And  we  shall  be  changed;"  an  expression  which 
follows  immediately  after  the  statement,  "  The  dead  shall  be 
raised  first."  ^  JMoreover,  in  the  first  Epistle  to  the  Thessa- 
lonians,  describing  the  same  change  in  different  words,  he  says 
that  they  who  sleep  are  not  the  same  as  those  who  are  alive ; 
his  language  being,  "I  would  not  have  you  to  be  ignorant,, 
brethren,  concerning  them  who  are  asleep,  that  ye  sorrow  not, 
even  as  others  which  have  no  hope.  For  if  we  believe  that 
Jesus  died,  and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also  that  sleep  in  Jesus 
will  God  bring  with  Him.  For  this  we  say  unto  you  by  the 
word  of  the  Lord,  that  we  who  are  alive  and  remain  unto  the 
coming  of  the  Lord,  shall  not  prevent  them  that  are  asleep."  ^ 
The  explanation  which  appeared  to  us  to  be  appropriate  to 
this  passage,  we  gave  in  the  exegetical  remarks  which  we  have 
made  on  the  first  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians. 

Chapter  lxvi. 

And  be  not  surprised  if  all  the  multitudes  who  have  be- 
lieved on  Jesus  do- not  behold  His  resurrection,  when  Paul, 
writing  to  the  Corinthians,  can  say  to  them,  as  being  incapable 
of  receiving  greater  matters,  "  For  I  determined  not  to  know 
anything  among  you,  save  Jesus  Christ,  and  Him  crucified  ;  "  * 
which  is  the  same  as  saying,  "  Hitherto  ye  were  not  able, 
neither  yet  now  are  ye  able,  for  ye  are  still  carnal."^  The 
Scripture,  therefore,  doing  everything  by  appointment  of  God, 
has  recorded  of  Jesus,  that  before  His  sufferings  He  appeared 
to  all  indifferently,  but  not  always  ;  while  after  His  sufferings 
He  no  longer  appeared  to  all  in  the  same  way,  but  with  a  certain 
1  1  Cor.  XV.  52.  2  cf  i  Cq^..  xv.  52  with  1  Thess.  iv.  16, 

8  Cf.  1  Thess.  iv.  13-15.  *  1  Cor.  ii.  2.  «  cf.  i  Cor.  iii.  2,  3. 


70  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

discrimmation  \vlnch  measured  out  to  each  his  due.  And  as  it 
is  related  that  "  God  appeared  to  Abraham,"  or  to  one  of  the 
saints,  and  this  "  appearance"  was  not  a  thing  of  constant  occur- 
rence, but  took  place  at  intervals,  and  not  to  all,  so  understand 
that  the  Son  of  God  appeared  in  the  one  case  on  the  same  prin- 
ciple that  God  appeared  to  the  latter.^ 

Chapter  lxvii. 

To  the  best  of  our  ability,  therefore,  as  in  a  treatise  of  this 
nature,  we  have  answered  the  objection,  that  "  if  Jesus  had 
really  wished  to  manifest  his  divine  power,  he  ought  to  have 
shown  himself  to  those  who  ill-treated  him,  and  to  the  judge 
who  condemned  him,  and  to  all  without  reservation."  There 
was,  however,  no  obligation  on  Him  to  appear  either  to  the 
judge  who  condemned  Him,  or  to  those  who  ill-treated  Him. 
For  Jesus  spared  both  the  one  and  the  other,  that  they  might 
not  be  smitten  with  blindness,  as  the  men  of  Sodom  were  when 
they  conspired  against  the  beauty  of  the  angels  entertained  by 
Lot.  And  here  is  the  account  of  the  matter  :  "  But  the  men 
put  forth  their  hand,  and  pulled  Lot  into  the  house  to  them, 
and  shut  to  the  door.  And  they  smote  the  men  who  were  at 
the  door  of  the  house  with  blindness,  both  small  and  great ;  so 
that  they  wearied  themselves  to  find  the  door."  ^  Jesus,  ac- 
cordingly, wished  to  show  that  His  power  was  divine  to  each 
one  who  was  capable  of  seeing  it,  and  according  to  the  measure 
of  His  capability.  And  I  do  not  suppose  that  He  guarded 
against  being  seen  on  any  other  ground  than  from  a  regard  to 
the  fitness  of  those  who  were  incapable  of  seeing  Him.  And 
it  is  in  vain  for  Celsus  to  add,  "  For  he  had  no  longer  occasion 
to  fear  any  man  after  his  death,  being,  as  you  say,  a  God ;  nor 
was  he  sent  into  the  world  at  all  for  the  purpose  of  being  hid." 
Yet  He  was  sent  into  the  world  not  only  to  become  known,  but  ^ 
also  to  be  hid.     For  all  that  He  was,  was  not  known  even  to   / 

(those  to  whom  He  was  known,  but  a  certain  part  of  Him  \ 
remained  concealed  even  from  them  ;  and  to  some  He  was  not 
known  at  all.     And  He  opened  the  gates  of  light  to  those  who 

'  ovru  fioi  i/oii  y.al  tou  vUv  rov  0rov  ufSxirri  ■TTupet'TzT^Yiaiec  si;  to  vipl  tKiivaVt 
fig  TO  uipSxi  avToii  rou  Qiiv,  Kpicu. 
-  Cf.  Geu.  xix.  10,  11. 


Book  ii.J  OllIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  71 

were  the  sons  of  darkness  and  of  niglit,  and  had  devoted  them- 
selves to  becoming  the  sons  of  h'glit  and  of  the  day.  For  our 
Saviour  Lord,  like  a  good  physician,  came  rather  to  us  who 
were  full  of  sins,  than  to  those  who  were  righteous. 

Chapter  lxviit. 

But  let  us  observe  how  this  Jew  of  Celsus  asserts  that,  "  if 
this  at  least  would  have  helped  to  manifest  his  divinity,  he 
ought  accordingly  to  have  at  once  disappeared  from  the  cross." 
Now  this  seems  to  me  to  be  like  the  argument  of  those  who 
loppose  the  doctrine  of  providence,  and  who  arrange  things 
differently  from  what  they  are,  and  allege  that  the  world  would 
'be  better  if  it  were  as  they  arrange  it.  Now,  in  those  instances 
in  which  their  arrangement  is  a  possible  one,  they  are  proved 
to  make  the  world,  so  far  as  depends  upon  them,  worse  by  their 
arrangement  than  it  actually  is ;  while  in  those  cases  in  which 
they  do  not  portray  things  worse  than  they  really  are,  they 
are  shown  to  desire  impossibilities  ;  so  that  in  either  case  they 
are  deserving  of  ridicule.  And  here,  accordingly,  that  there 
was  no  impossibility  in  His  coming,  as  a  being  of  diviner 
nature,  in  order  to  disappear  when  He  chose,  is  clear  from  the 
very  nature  of  the  case ;  and  is  certain,  moreover,  from  what 
is  recorded  of  Him,  in  the  judgment  of  those  who  do  not  adopt 
certain  portions  merely  of  the  narrative  that  they  may  have 
ground  for  accusing  Christianity,  and  who  consider  other  por- 
tions to  be  fiction.  For  it  is  related  in  St.  Luke's  Gospel,  that 
Jesus  after  His  resurrection  took  bread,  and  blessed  it,  and 
breaking  it,  distributed  it  to  Simon  and  Cleopas ;  and  when 
they  had  received  the  bread,  "  their  eyes  were  opened,  and 
they  knew  Him,  and  He  vanished  out  of  their  sight."  ^ 

Chapter  lxix. 

But  we  wish  to  show  that  His  instantaneous  bodily  disappear- 
ance from  the  cross  was  not  better  fitted  to  serve  the  purposes 
of  the  whole  economy  of  salvation  [than  His  remaining  upon 
it  was].  For  the  mere  letter  and  narrative  of  the  events  which 
happened  to  Jesus  do  not  present  the  whole  view  of  the  truth. 
For  each  one  of  them  can  be  shown,  to  those  who  have  an  in- 
1  Cf.  Luke  xxiv.  30,  31. 


72  OPdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

telligent  appreliensiou  of  Scripture,  to  be  a  symbol  of  something 
else.  Accordingly,  as  His  crucifixion  contains  a  truth,  repre- 
sented in  the  words,  "  I  am  crucified  -with  Christ,"  and  inti- 
mated also  in  these,  "  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in 
the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  the  world  is  cru- 
cified to  me,  and  I  unto  the  world ; "  ^  and  as  His  death  was 
necessary,  because  of  the  statement,  "  For  in  that  He  died,  He 
died  unto  sin  once," "  and  this,  "  Being  made  conformable  to 
His  death,"  ^  and  this,  "  For  if  we  be  dead  with  Him,  we  shall 
also  live  with  Him  :"  ^  so  also  His  burial  has  an  application  to 
those  who  have  been  made  conformable  to  His  death,  who 
have  been  both  crucified  with  Him,  and  have  died  with  Him  ; 
as  is  declared  by  Paul,  "  For  we  were  buried  with  Him  by  bap- 
tism, and  have  also  risen  with  Him."^  These  matters,  how- 
ever, which  relate  to  His  burial,  and  his  sepulchre,  and  him 
who  buried  Him,  we  shall  expound  at  greater  length  on  a  more 
suitable  occasion,  when  it  will  be  our  professed  purpose  to 
treat  of  such  things.  But,  for  the  present,  it  is  sufficient  to 
notice  the  clean  linen  in  which  the  pure  body  of  Jesus  was  to 
be  enwrapped,  and  the  new  tomb  which  Joseph  had  hewn  out 
of  the  rock,  where  "  no  one  was  yet  lying,"  '^  or,  as  John  ex- 
presses it,  "  wherein  was  never  man  yet  laid."  ^  And  observe 
whether  the  harmony  of  the  three  evangelists  here  is  not  fitted  to 
make  an  impression  :  for  they  have  thought  it  right  to  describe 
the  tomb  as  one  that  was  "  quarried  or  hewn  out  of  the  rock ; " 
so  that  he  who  examines  the  words  of  the  narrative  may  see 
something  worthy  of  consideration,  both  in  them  and  in  the 
newness  of  the  tomb,  —  a  point  mentioned  by  Matthew  and 
John,® — and  in  the  statement  of  Luke  and  John,^  that  no  one 
had  ever  been  interred  therein  before.  For  it  became  Him,, 
who  was  unlike  other  dead  men  (but  who  even  in  death  mani- 
fested signs  of  life  in  the  water  and  the  blood),  and  who  was, 
so  to  speak,  a  new  dead  man,  to  be  laid  in  a  new  and  clean 

1  Cf.  Gal.  vi.  14.  2  Ron^.  yj.  jq.  s  Phil.  iii.  10. 

^  L'  Tim.  ii.  11.  5  Cf.  Kom.  vi.  4. 

^  Luke  xxiii.  63,  oyx  «v  ovttoj  ovOrij  x.iiy.iiiog. 

^  John  xix.  41,  iv  u  oiBs^w  o'jlii;  iredn. 

8  Cf.  Matt,  xxvii.  GO  with  John  xix.  41. 

^  Cf.  Luke  xxiii.  53  with  John  xix.  41. 


Book  ii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  73 

tomb,  in  order  that,  as  His  birth  was  purer  than  any  other  (in 
consequence  of  His  being  born,  not  in  the  way  of  ordinary 
generation,  but  of  a  virgin),  His  burial  also  might  have  the 
purity  symbolically  indicated  in  His  body  being  deposited  in 
a  sepulchre  which  was  new,  not  built  of  stones  gathered  from 
various  quarters,  and  having  no  natural  unity,  but  quarried 
and  hewed  out  of  one  rock,  united  together  in  all  its  parts. 
Regarding  the  explanation,  however,  of  these  points,  and  the 
method  of  ascending  from  the  narratives  themselves  to  the 
things  which  they  symbolized,  one  might  treat  more  profoundly, 
and  in  a  manner  more  adapted  to  their  divine  character,  on  a 
more  suitable  occasion,  in  a  work  expressly  devoted  to  such 
subjects.  The  literal  narrative,  however,  one  might  thus  ex- 
plain, viz.  that  it  was  appropriate  for  Him  who  had  resolved  to 
endure  suspension  upon  the  cross,  to  maintain  all  the  accom- 
paniments of  the  character  He  had  assumed,  in  order  that  He 
who  as  a  man  had  been  put  to  death,  and  who  as  a  man  had 
died,  might  also  as  a  man  be  buried.  But  even  if  it  had  been 
related  in  the  Gospels,  according  to  the  view  of  Celsus,  that 
Jesus  had  immediately  disappeared  from  the  cross,  he  and  other 
unbelievers  would  have  found  fault  with  the  narrative,  and 
would  have  brought  against  it  some  such  objection  as  this  : 
"  Why,  pray,  did  he  disappear  after  he  had  been  put  upon 
the  cross,  and  not  disappear  before  he  suffered  ? "  If,  then, 
after  learning  from  the  Gospels  that  He  did  not  at  once  dis- 
appear from  the  cross,  they  imagine  that  they  can  find  fault 
with  the  narrative,  because  it  did  not  invent,  as  they  consider 
it  ought  to  have  done,  any  such  instantaneous  disappearance, 
but  gave  a  true  account  of  the  matter,  is  it  not  reasonable  that 
they  should  accord  their  faith  also  to  His  resurrection,  and 
should  believe  that  He,  according  to  His  pleasure,  on  one  occa- 
sion, when  the  doors  were  shut,  stood  in  the  midst  of  His  dis- 
ciples, and  on  another,  after  distributing  bread  to  two  of  His 
acquaintances,  immediately  disappeared  from  view,  after  He 
had  spoken  to  them  certain  words  ? 

Chapter  lxx. 

But  how  is  it  that  this  Jew  of  Celsus  could  say  that  Jesus 
concealed  Himself  ?     For  his  words  regarding  Him  are  these  : 


74  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ir. 

"  And  who  that  is  sent  as  a  messenger  ever  conceals  himself 
when  he  ought  to  make  known  his  message?"  Now,  He  did 
not  conceal  Himself,  who  said  to  those  who  sought  to  appre- 
hend Him,  "  I  was  daily  teaching  openly  in  the  temple,  and  ye 
laid  no  hold  upon  me."  But  having  once  already  answered  this 
charge  of  Celsus,  now  again  repeated,  we  shall  content  ourselves 
with  what  we  have  formerly  said.  We  have  answered,  also,  in 
the  preceding  pages,  this  objection,  that  "  while  he  was  in  the 
body,  and  no  one  believed  upon  him,  he  preached  to  all  without 
intermission ;  but  when  he  might  have  produced  a  powerful 
belief  in  himself  after  rising  from  the  dead,  he  showed  himself 
secretly  only  to  one  woman,  and  to  his  own  boon  companions."  * 
Now  it  is  not  true  that  He  showed  Himself  only  to  one  woman ; 
for  it  is  stated  in  the  Gospel  according  to  Matthew,  that  "  in  the 
end  of  the  Sabbath,  as  it  began  to  dawn  towards  the  first  day 
of  the  week,  came  Mary  Magdalene,  and  the  other  Mary,  to 
see  the  sepulchre.  And,  behold,  there  had  been  a  great  earth- 
quake :  for  the  angel  of  the  Lord  had  descended  from  heaven, 
and  come  and  rolled  back  the  stone."  ^  And,  shortly  after, 
Matthew  adds:  "  And,  behold,  Jesus  met  them^^ — clearly  mean- 
ing the  afore-mentioned  Marys — "  saying,  All  hail.  And  they 
came  and  held  Him  by  the  feet,  and  worshipped  Him."  ^  And 
we  answered,  too,  the  charge,  that  "  while  undergoing  his 
punishment  he  was  seen  by  all,  but  after  his  resurrection  only 
by  one,"  when  we  offered  our  defence  of  the  fact  that  "  He  was 
not  seen  by  all."  And  now  we  might  say  that  His  merely 
human  attributes  were  visible  to  all  men,  but  those  which  were 
divine  in  their  nature — I  speak  of  the  attributes  not  as  related, 
but  as  distinct* — were  not  capable  of  being  received  by  all. 
But  observe  here  the  manifest  contradiction  into  which  Celsus 
falls.  For  having  said,  a  little  before,  that  Jesus  had  appeared 
secretly  to  one  woman  and  His  own  boon  companions,  he 
immediately  subjoins  :  "  "While  undergoing  his  punishment  he 
was  seen  by  all  men,  but  after  his  resurrection  by  one,  wdiereas 
the  opposite  ought  to  have  happened."  And  let  us  hear  what 
he  means  by  "  ought  to  have  happened."     The  being  seen  by 

^  To7f  iuvrov  dtaaurui;.  ^  Matt,  xxviii.  1,  2.  ^  Matt,  xxviii.  9. 

*  "hkya  OS  ov   ~ipi  tuv  axiaiu  vpo;  inpet  i^oi/ruu,  clXXx  -Tespl  ruv  x,ar»  Otei- 
(Pooocu. 


Book  II.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  75 

all  mcu  while  undergoing  Ilis  punishment,  but  after  Plis 
resurrection  only  by  one  individual,  are  opposites.^  Now, 
so  far  as  his  language  conveys  a  meaning,  he  would  have  that 
to  take  place  which  is  both  impossible  and  absurd,  viz.,  that 
while  undergoing  His  punishment  He  should  be  seen  only 
by  one  individual,  but  after  liis  resurrection  by  all  men !  or 
else  how  will  you  explain  his  words,  "  The  opposite  ought  to 
have  happened  ?  " 

Chapter  lxxi. 

Jesus  taught  us  who  it  was  that  sent  Him,  in  the  words, 
"None  knoweth  the  Father  but  the  Son;"^  and  in  these, 
"  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time ;  the  only  begotten  Son, 
who  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  He  hath  declared  Him."^ 
i  He,  treating  of  Deity,  stated  to  His  true  disciples  the  doctrine 
refjardincr  God ;  and  we,  discoverino-  traces  of  such  teachincj  in 
the  Scripture  narratives,  take  occasion  from  such  to  aid  our 
theological  conceptions,*  hearing  it  declared  in  one  passage,  that 
"  God  is  light,  and  in  Him  there  is  no  dai'kness  at  all  ;"^  and 
in  another,  "  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  they  that  worship  Him  must 
worship  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth."  ^  But  the  purposes  for 
which  the  Father  sent  Plim  are  innumerable ;  and  these  any 
one  may  ascertain  who  chooses,  partly  from  the  prophets  who 
prophesied  of  Him,  and  partly  from  the  narratives  of  the 
evano-elists.  And  not  a  few  thino;s  also  will  he  learn  from  the 
apostles,  and  especially  from  Paul.  Moreover,  those  w^ho  are 
pious  He  leadeth  to  the  light,  and  those  who  sin  He  will 
punish, — a  circumstance  which  Celsus  not  observing,  has  repre- 
sented Him  "  as  one  who  will  lead  the  pious  to  the  light,  and 
who  will  have  mercy  on  others,  whether  they  sin  or  repent."^ 

'^  ivavriov  ro  fciv  x,o'ha,(^6y.ivou  ■^ra.ai'j  ko)pa.adcii^  clvuaTUi/rct  B;  'ttxchv.  The 
Benedictine  editor  reads  t6v  f/Au  KoT^u^o/^ivov,  and  Bohereau  proposes  hccu- 
tiov  t5  Ko>.oe.(^6fcsvo'j  /icsu,  etc. 

2  Cf.  Luke  s.  22.  3  John  i.  18. 

*  w;/  i'x.'-'yi  -v  To7;  ys'/pxfiiit.suotg  svpiaKOvrss  AQapy-oi;  i-/,oy-iv  SioKoyilu. 

^  1  John  i.  5.  ^  John  iv.  24. 

^  The  text  is,  roy;  3s  ufiapriivovr^s  tj  furxyvovTug  sM'/iaav.  Bohereau 
would  read  /a-zj  /iisrccyi/ovrxg,  or  would  render  the  passage  as  if  the 
reading  were  »;  »f6uproiv6i/Tus,  V  /^eruyvovzu^.  This  suggestion  has  been 
adopted  in  the  translation. 


76  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

Chapter  lxxii. 
After  the  above  statements,  he  contiuues  :  "  If  he  wished  to 
remain  hid,  why  was  thei'e  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  pro- 
claiming him  to  be  the  Son  of  God  ?  And  if  he  did  not  seek 
to  remain  concealed,  why  was  he  punished?  or  why  did  he 
die?"  Now,  by  such  questions  he  thinks  to  convict  the  his- 
tories of  discrepancy,  not  observing  that  Jesus  neither  desired 
all  things  regarding  Himself  to  be  known  to  all  whom  He  hap- 
pened to  meet,  nor  yet  all  things  to  be  unknown.  Accordingly, 
the  voice  from  heaven  which  pi'ocl aimed  Him  to  be  the  Son  of 
God,  in  the  words,  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am 
well  pleased,"^  is  not  stated  to  have  been  audible  to  the  multi-  i 
tudes,  as  this  Jew  of  Celsus  supposed.  The  voice  from  the 
cloud  on  the  high  mountain,  moreov^er,  was  heard  only  by  those 
who  had  gone  up  with  Him.  For  the  divine  voice  is  of  such  a 
nature,  as  to  be  heard  only  by  those  whom  the  speaker  wishes 
to  hear  it.  And  I  maintain,  that  the  voice  of  God  wdiich  is 
referred  to,  is  neither  air  which  has  been  struck,  nor  any  con- 
cussion of  the  air,  nor  anything  else  which  is  mentioned  in 
treatises  on  the  voice  f  and  therefore  it  is  heard  by  a  better 
and  more  divine  organ  of  hearing  than  that  of  sense.  And 
when  the  speaker  will  not  have  his  voice  to  be  heard  by  all,  he 
that  has  the  finer  ear  hears  the  voice  of  God,  while  he  who  has 
the  ears  of  his  soul  deadened  does  not  perceive  that  it  is  God 
wlio  speaks.  These  things  I  have  mentioned  because  of  his 
asking,  "  Why  was  there  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  proclaim- 
ing him  to  be  the  Son  of  God?"  while  with  respect  to  the 
query,  "  Why  was  he  punished,  if  he  wished  to  remain  hidf" 
what  has  been  stated  at  greater  length  in  the  preceding  pages 
on  the  subject  of  His  sufferings  may  suffice. 

Chapter  lxxiii. 

The  Jew  proceeds,  after  this,  to  state  as  a  consequence  what 
does  not  follow  from  the  premises ;  for  it  does  not  follow  from 
"  His  having  wished,  by  the  punishments  which  He  underwent, 
to  teach  us  also  to  despise  death,"   that  after  His  resurrection 

1  Matt.  iii.  17. 


Book  II. J  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  77 

He  should  openly  summon  all  men  to  the  liglit,  and  instruct 
them  in  the  object  of  His  coming.  For  He  had  formerly  sum- 
moned all  men  to  the  liglit  in  the  words,  "  Come  unto  me,  all 
ye  that  labour  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  * 
And  the  object  of  Plis  coming  had  been  explained  at  great 
length  in  His  discourses  on  the  beatitudes,  and  in  the  announce- 
ments which  followed  them,  and  in  the  parables,  and  in  His 
conversations  with  the  scribes  and  Pharisees.  And  the  instruc- 
tion afforded  us  by  the  Gospel  of  Jolm,  shows  that  the  elo- 
quence of  Jesus  consisted  not  in  words,  but  in  deeds  ;  while  it 
is  manifest  from  the  Gospel  narratives  that  His  speech  was 
"  with  power,"  on  which  account  also  they  marvelled  at  Him. 

Chapter  lxxiv. 

In  addition  to  all  this,  the  Jew  further  says  :  "  All  these 
statements  are  taken  from  your  own  books,  in  addition  to  which 
we  need  no  other  witness ;  for  ye  fall  upon  your  own  swords."' 

Now  we  have  proved  that  many  foolish  assertions,  opposed  to 
the  narratives  of  our  Gospels,  occur  in  the  statements  of  the 
Jew,  either  with  respect  to  Jesus  or  ourselves.  And  I  do  not 
think  that  he  has  shown  that  "  we  fall  upon  our  own  swords  ;" 
but  he  only  so  imagines.  And  when  the  Jew  adds,  in  a  general 
way,  this  to  his  former  remarks  :  "  O  most  high  and  heavenly 
one  !  what  God,  on  appearing  to  men,  is  received  with  incre- 
dulity ?"  we  must  say  to  him,  that  according  to  the  accounts  in 
the  law  of  Moses,  God  is  related  to  have  visited  the  Hebrews 
in  a  most  public  manner,  not  only  in  the  signs  and  wonders 
performed  in  Egypt,  and  also  in  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea, 
and  in  the  pillar  of  fire  and  cloud  of  light,  but  also  when  the 
Decalogue  was  announced  to  the  whole  people,  and  yet  was 
received  with  incredulity  by  those  who  saw  these  things : 
for  had  they  believed  what  they  saw  and  heard,  they  would 
not  have  fashioned  the  calf,  nor  changed  their  own  glory  into 
the  likeness  of  a  grass-eating  calf  ;  nor  would  they  have  said  to 
one  another  with  reference  to  the  calf,  "  These  be  thy  gods, 
O  Israel,  who  brought  thee  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt."  ^ 
And  observe  whether  it  is  not  entirely  in  keeping  with  the 

^  Cf.  Matt.  xi.  28.  "^  avrol  ycip  iavrols  TrepiTfiTrnTe. 

^  Cf.  Ex.  xxxii.  4. 


78  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

character  of  the  same  people,  who  formerly  refused  to  believe 
such  wonders  and  such  appearances  of  divinity,  throughout 
the  whole  period  of  wandering  in  the  wilderness,  as  they  are 
recorded  in  the  law  of  the  Jews  to  have  done,  to  refuse  to  be 
convinced  also,  on  occasion  of  the  glorious  advent  of  Jesus,  by 
the  mifi-hty  words  which  were  spoken  by  Him  with  authority, 
and  the  marvels  which  He  performed  in  the  presence  of  all  the 
people. 

Chapter  lxxv. 
I  think  what  has  been  stated  is  enough  to  convince  any  one 
that  the  unbelief  of  the  Jews  with  regard  to  Jesus  was  in 
keeping  with  what  is  related  of  this  people  from  the  beginning. 
For  I  would  say  in  reply  to  this  Jew  of  Celsus,  when  he  asks, 
"  What  God  that  appeared  among  men  is  received  with  incre- 
dulity, and  that,  too,  when  appearing  to  those  who  expect  him  ? 
or  why,  pray,  is  he  not  recognised  by  those  who  have  been 
long  looking  for  him  %  "  what  answer,  friends,  would  you  have 
us  return  to  your  ^  questions  ?  Which  class  of  miracles,  in  your 
judgment,  do  you  regard  as  the  greater  ?  Those  which  were 
wrought  in  Egypt  and  the  wilderness,  or  those  which  we  declare 
that  Jesus  performed  among  you  ?  For  if  the  former  are 
in  your  opinion  greater  than  the  latter,  does  it  not  appear 
from  this  very  fact  to  be  in  conformity  with  the  character  of 
those  who  disbelieved  the  greater  to  despise  the  less?  And 
this  is  the  opinion  entertained  with  respect  to  our  accounts  of 
the  miracles  of  Jesus.  But  if  those  related  of  Jesus  are  con- 
sidered to  be  as  great  as  those  recorded  of  Moses,  what  strange 
thing  has  come  to  pass  among  a  nation  which  has  manifested 
incredulity  with  regard  to  the  commencement  of  both  dispensa- 
tions ?  ^  For  the  beginning  of  the  legislation  was  in  the  time 
of  Moses,  in  whose  work  are  recorded  the  sins  of  the  unbe- 
lievers and  wicked  among  you,  while  the  commencement  of  our 
legislation  and  second  covenant  is  admitted  to  have  been  in 
the  time  of  Jesus.  And  by  your  unbelief  of  Jesus  ye  show 
that  ye  are  the  sons  of  those  who  in  the  desert  discredited  the 

^  The  text  reads  '^fiuv,  for  which  Bohereau  and  the  Benedictine  editor 
propose  either  vf^H;  or  hf^SL;,  the  former  of  wliicli  is  preferred  by  Lom- 
matzsch. 

^  Kctr  dfiCfOTtpx;  Toig  ccpx<i;  Tuu  '^rpuyfAciruv  oL'^riaTOUDTt. 


Book  II.]  OEIG EN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  79 

divine  appearances  ;  and  thus  what  was  spoken  by  our  Saviour 
will  be  apphcable  also  to  you  who  believed  not  on  Him  : 
"Therefore  ye  bear  witness  that  yo  allow  the  deeds  of  your 
fathers."^  And  there  is  fulfilled  among  you  also  the  prophecy 
which  said  :  "  Your  life  shall  hang  in  doubt  before  your  eyes, 
and  you  Avill  have  no  assurance  of  your  life." "  For  ye  did  not 
believe  in  the  life  which  came  to  visit  the  human  race. 

Chapter  lxxvi. 

Celsus,  in  adopting  the  character  of  a  Jew,  could  not  dis- 
cover any  objections  to  be  urged  against  the  gospel  which  might 
not  be  retorted  on  him  as  liable  to  be  brought  also  against  the 
law  and  the  prophets.  For  he  censures  Jesus  in  such  words  as 
the  following  :  "  He  makes  use  of  threats,  and  reviles  men  on 
light  grounds,  when  he  says,  ^  Woe  unto  you,'  and  '  I  tell  you 
beforehand.'  For  by  such  expressions  he  naanifestly  acknow- 
ledges his  inability  to  persuade ;  and  this  would  not  be  the 
case  with  a  God,  or  even  a  prudent  man."  Observe,  now, 
whether  these  charges  do  not  manifestly  recoil  upon  the  Jew. 
For  in  the  writings  of  the  law  and  the  prophets  God  makes  use 
of  threats  and  revilings,  when  He  employs  language  of  not  less 
severity  than  that  found  in  the  Gospel,  such  as  the  following 
expressions  of  Isaiah  :  "  Woe  unto  them  that  join  house  to 
house,  and  lay  field  to  field  ; "  ^  and,  "  Woe  unto  them  that  rise 
up  early  in  the  morning  that  they  may  follow  strong  drink ; "  * 
and,  ''  Woe  unto  them  that  draw  their  sins  after  them  as  with 
a  long  rope  ; "  ^  and,  "  Woe  unto  them  that  call  evil  good,  and 
good  evil ; "  ^  and,  "  Woe  unto  those  of  you  who  are  mighty  to 
drink  wine  ; "  ^  and  innumerable  other  passages  of  the  same 
kind.  And  does  not  the  followino;  resemble  the  threats  of 
which  he  speaks  :  "  Ah,  sinful  nation,  a  people  laden  with 
iniquity,  a  seed  of  evil-doers,  children  that  are  corrupters  ?  "  ^ 
and  so  on,  to  which  he  subjoins  such  threats  as  are  equal  in 
severity  to  those  which,  he  says,  Jesus  made  use  of.  For  is  it 
not  a  threatening,  and  a  great  one,  which  declares,  "  Your 
country  is  desolate,  your  cities  are  burned  with  fire  :  your  land, 

1  Cf.  Luke  xi.  48.  2  cf.  Deut.  xxviii.  66.  ^  ig^.  y.  g. 

*  Isa.  v.  11.  5  Isa.  V.  18.  ^  Isa.  v.  20. 

7  Isa.  V.  22.  8  Cf.  Isa.  i.  4. 


80  OniGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ir. 

strangers  devour  it  in  j'our  presence,  and  it  is  desolate,  as  over- 
thrown   by    strangers  ? "  ^      And    are   there    not   revilings    in 
Ezekiel  directed  against  the  people,  when  the  Lord  says  to  the 
prophet,  "Thou  dwellest  in  the  midst  of  scorpions?"^     Were 
you  serious,  then,  Celsus,  in  representing  the  Jew  as  saying  of 
Jesus,  that  "he  makes  use  of  threats  and  revilings  on  slight 
grounds,  when  he  employs  the  expressions,  *  Woe  unto  you,' 
and  '  I  tell  you  beforehand  %  ' "    Do  you  not  see  that  the  charges 
which  this  Jew  of  yours  brings  against  Jesus  might  be  brought 
by  him  against  God  ?     For  the  God  who  speaks  in  the  pro- 
phetic writings  is  manifestly  liable  to  the  same  accusations,  as 
Celsus  regards  them,  of  inability  to  persuade.     I  might,  more- 
over, say  to  this  Jew,  who  thinks  that  he  makes  a  good  charge 
against  Jesus  by  such  statements,  that  if  he  undertakes,  in  sup- 
port of  the  scriptural  account,  to  defend  the  numerous  curses 
recorded  in  the  books  of  Leviticus  and  Deuteronomy,  we  should 
make  as  good,  or  better,  a  defence  of  the  revilings  and  threaten- 
ings  which  are  regarded  as  having  been  spoken  by  Jesus.     And 
as  respects  the  law  of  Moses  itself,  we  are  in  a  position  to  make 
a  better  defence  of  it  than  the  Jew  is,  because  we  have  beeu 
tauglit  by  Jesus  to  have  a  more  intelligent  apprehension  of  the 
writings  of  the  law.     Nay,  if  the  Jew  perceive  the  meaning  of 
the  prophetic  Scriptures,  he  will  be  able  to  show  that  it  is  for 
no  light  reason  that  God  employs  threatenings  and  revilings, 
when  He  says,  "  Woe  unto  you,"  and  "  I  tell  you  beforehand." 
And  how  should  God  employ  such  expressions  for  the  conver- 
sion of  men,  which  Celsus  thinks  that  even  a  prudent  man  would 
not  have  recourse  to  ?    But  Christians,  who  know  only  one  God 
— the  same  who  spoke  in  the  prophets  and  in  the  Lord  [Jesus] 
— can  prove  the  reasonableness  of  those  threatenings  and  revil- 
ings, as  Celsus  considers  and  entitles  them.     And  here  a  few 
remarks  shall  be  addressed  to  this  Celsus,  who  professes  both 
to  be  a  ])hilosopher,  and  to  be  acquainted  with  all  our  system. 
How  is  it,  friend,  when  Hermes,  in  Homer,  says  to  Odysseus, 

"  Why,  now,  wretched  man,  do  you  come  wandering  alone 
over  the  mountain-tops  ?  "  * 

that  you  are  satisfied  with  the  answer,  which  explains  that  the 
>  Isa.  i.  7.  2  Ezek.  ii.  6.  ^  cf.  Odyss.  x.  281. 


Book  n.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  81 

Homeric  Hermes  addresses  such  language  to  Odysseus  to  remind 
him  of  his  duty/  hecause  it  is  characteristic  of  the  Sirens  to 
flatter  and  to  say  pleasing  things,  around  whom 

"  Is  a  huge  heap  of  bones,"  ^ 

and  who  say, 

"  Come  hither,  much  lauded  Odysseus,  great  glory  of  the  Greeks  ;  ''S 

whereas,  if  our  prophets  and  Jesus  Himself,  in  order  to  tura 
their  hearers  from  evil,  make  use  of  such  expressions  as  "  Woe 
unto  you,"  and  what  you  regard  as  revilings,  there  is  no  con- 
descension in  such  language  to  the  circumstances  of  the  hearers, 
nor  any  application  of  such  words  to  them  as  healing^  medicine  ? 
Unless,  indeed,  you  would  have  God,  or  one  who  partakes  of 
the  divine  nature,  when  conversing  with  men,  to  have  regard  to 
His  own  nature  alone,  and  to  what  is  worthy  of  Himself,  but 
to  have  no  regard  to  what  is  fitting  to  be  brought  before  men 
who  are  under  the  dispensation  and  leading  of  His  word,  and 
•  with  each  one  of  wdiom  He  is  to  converse  agreeably  to  his  indi- 
vidual character.  And  is  it  not  a  ridiculous  assertion  regard- 
ing Jesus,  to  say  that  He  was  unable  to  persuade  men,  when 
you  compare  the  state  of  matters  not  only  among  the  Jews, 
who  have  many  such  instances  recorded  in  the  prophecies,  but 
also  among  the  Greeks,  among  whom  all  of  those  who  have 
attained  great  reputation  for  their  wisdom  have  been  unable  to 
persuade  those  who  conspired  against  them,  or  to  induce  their 
judges  or  accusers  to  cease  from  evil,  and  to  endeavour  to  attain 
to  virtue  by  the  way  of  philosophy  ? 

Chapter  lxxvii. 

After  this  the  Jew  remarks,  manifestly  in  accordance  with 
the  Jewish  belief :  "  We  certainly  hope  that  there  will  be  a 
bodily  resurrection,  and  that  we  shall  enjoy  an  eternal  life  ; 
and  the  example  and  archetype  of  this  will  be  He  who  is 
sent  to  us,  and  who  will  show  that  nothing  is  impossible  with 
God."  We  do  not  know^,  indeed,  whether  the  Jew  would  say 
of  the  expected  Christ,  that  He  exhibits  in  Himself  an  example 
of  the  resurrection  ;  but  let  it  be  supposed  that  he  both  thinks 

1  vT7ip  iTirtarpoCpYii.  2  Q^   Odyss.  xii.  45. 

2  Ihiil.  xii.  184.  ■*  ttchuuiou  (pupi^aKOv. 
ORTG. — VOL.  II.  F 


82  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ii. 

and  says  so.  We  shall  give  this  answer,  then,  to  him  who  has 
told  us  that  he  drew  his  information  from  our  own  writings  : 
"  Did  you  read  those  writings,  friend,  in  which  you  think  you 
discover  matter  of  accusation  against  us,  and  not  find  there  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus,  and  the  declaration  that  He  was  the  first- 
born from  the  dead  ?  Or  because  you  will  not  allow  such  things 
to  have  been  recorded,  were  they  not  actually  recorded?"  But 
as  the  Jew  still  admits  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  I  do  not 
consider  the  present  a  suitable  time  to  discuss  the  subject  with 
one  who  both  believes  and  says  that  there  is  a  bodily  resurrec- 
tion, whether  he  has  an  articulate^  understanding  of  such  a 
topic,  and  is  able  to  plead  well  on  its  behalf,^  or  not,  but  has 
only  given  his  assent  to  it  as  being  of  a  legendary  character.^ 
Let  the  above,  then,  be  our  reply  to  this  Jew  of  Celsus.  And 
when  he  adds,  ".  Where,  then,  is  he,  that  we  may  see  him  and 
believe  upon  him?  "  we  answ^er  :  Where  is  He  now  who  spoke 
in  the  prophecies,  and  w^ho  wrought  miracles,  that  we  may  see 
and  believe  that  He  is  part  of  God  ?  Are  you  to  be  allowed  to 
meet  the  objection,  that  God  does  not  perpetually  show  Him- 
self to  the  Hebrew  nation,  while  xi^e  are  not  to  be  permitted  the 
same  defence  with  regard  to  Jesus,  who  has  both  once  risen 
Himself,  and  led  His  disciples  to  believe  in  His  resurrection, 
and  so  thoroughly  persuaded  them  of  its  truth,  that  they  shoAv 
to  all  men  by  their  sufferings  how  they  are  able  to  laugh  at  all 
the  troubles  of  life,  beholding  the  life  eternal  and  the  resur- 
rection clearly  demonstrated  to  them  both  in  word  and  deed  ? 

Chapter  lxxviii. 

The  Jew  continues  :  "  Did  Jesus  come  into  the  world  for 
this  purpose,  that  we  should  not  believe  him  ?  "  To  which  we 
immediately  answer,  that  He  did  not  come  with  the  object  of 
producing  incredulity  among  the  Jews ;  but  knowing  before- 
hand that  such  would  be  the  result,  He  foretold  it,  and  made 
use  of  their  unbelief  for  the  calling  of  the  Gentiles.  For 
through  their  sin  salvation  came  to  the  Gentiles,  respecting 
whom  the  Christ  wdio  speaks  in  the  prophecies  says,  "  A  people 

^  iln  ZtecpOpoUvru  ro  roioZrov  -Trup   ixvru. 

*  y,etl  ovuKfMVQv  '^rpHTjSevacci  Trspt  roZ  'hoyov  koKu^. 


Book  ii.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  83 

whom  I  did  not  know  became  subject  to  me  :  they  were  obedient 
to  the  hearing  of  my  ear ; "  ^  and,  "  I  was  found  of  them  who 
souMit  me  not;  I  became  manifest  to  those  who  inquired  not 
after  me."  ^  It  is  certain,  moreover,  tliat  the  Jews  were  punished 
even  in  this  present  hfe,  after  treating  Jesus  in  the  manner  in 
which  they  did.  And  let  the  Jews  assert  what  they  will  when 
we  charge  them  with  guilt,  and  say,  ^'  Is  not  the  providence  and 
goodness  of  God  most  wonderfully  displayed  in  your  punish- 
ment, and  in  your  being  deprived  of  Jerusalem,  and  of  the 
sanctuary,  and  of  your  splendid  worship  ?  "  For  whatever  they 
may  say  in  reply  Avith  respect  to  the  providence  of  God,  we 
shall  be  able  more  effectually  to  answer  it  by  remarking,  that 
the  providence  of  God  was  wonderfully  manifested  in  using  the 
transgression  of  that  people  for  the  purpose  of  calling  into  the 
kingdom  of  God,  through  Jesus  Christ,  those  from  among  the 
Gentiles  who  were  strangers  to  the  covenant  and  aliens  to  the 
promises.  And  these  things  were'foretold  by  the  prophets,  who 
said  that,  on  account  of  the  transgressions  of  the  Hebrew  nation, 
God  would  make  choice,  not  of  a  nation,  but  of  individuals 
chosen  from  all  lands  ;  ^  and,  having  selected  the  foolish  things 
of  the  world,  would  cause  an  ignorant  nation  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  divine  teaching,  the  kingdom  of  God  being 
taken  from  the  one  and  given  to  the  other.  And  out  of  a 
larger  number  it  is  sufScient  on  the  present  occasion  to  adduce 
the  prediction  from  the  song  in  Deuteronomy  regarding  the 
calling  of  the  Gentiles,  which  is  as  follows,  being  spoken  in 
the  person  of  the  Lord :  "  They  have  moved  me  to  jealousy 
with  those  who  are  not  gods  ;  they  have  provoked  me  to  anger 
with  their  idols  :  and  I  will  move  them  to  jealousy  with  those 
who  are  not  a  people ;  I  will  provoke  them  to  anger  with  a 
foolish  nation."* 

Chapter  lxxix. 

The  conclusion  of  all  these  arffuments  re£i;arding  Jesus  is  thus 
stated  by  the  Jew :  "  He  was  therefore  a  man,  and  of  such  a 
nature,  as  the  truth  itself  proves,  and  reason  demonstrates  him 
to  be."  I  do  not  know,  however,  whether  a  man  who  had  the 
courage  to  spread  throughout  the  entire  world  his  doctrine  of 

1  Cf.  2  Sam.  xxii.  44,  45.  2  cf.  Isa,.  Ixv.  1. 

^  oi/x,^  'i&yog^  oi'k'hu.  ?ioy«3«j  -TrctuTUxodiv.  ^  Cf.  Deut.  xxxii.  21. 


84  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ir. 

religious   worship    and    teaching,^   could    accomplish   what   he 
wished  without  the  divine  assistance,  and  could  rise  superior  to 
all  who  withstood  the  progress  of  his  doctrine — kings  and  rulers, 
and  the  Roman  senate,  and  governors  in  all  places,  and  the 
common  people.    And  how  could  the  nature  of  a  man  possessed 
of  no  inherent  excellence  convert  so  vast  a  multitude  ?     For  it 
would  not  be  wonderful  if  it  were  only  the  wise  who  were  so  con- 
verted ;  but  it  is  the  most  irrational  of  men,  and  those  devoted 
to  their  passions,   and  who,   by  reason  of  their   irrationality, 
change  with  the  greater  difficulty  so  as  to  ado^it  a  more  tem- 
perate course  of  life.     And  yet  it  is  because  Christ  was  the 
power  of  God  and  the  wisdom  of  the  Father  that  He  accom- 
plished, and  still  accomplishes,  such  results,  although  neither 
the  Jews  nor  Greeks  who  disbelieve  His  word  will  so  admit. 
And  therefore  we  shall  not  cease  to  believe  in  God,  according 
to  the  precepts  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  seek  to  convert  those 
who  are  blind  on  the  subject  of  religion,  although  it  is  they  who 
are  truly  blind  themselves  that  charge  us  with  blindness  :  and 
they,  wdiether  Jews  or  Greeks,  who  lead  astray  those  that  follow 
them,  accuse  us  of  seducing  men — a  good  seduction,  truly ! — 
that  they  may  become  temperate  instead  of  dissolute,  or  at  least 
may  make  advances  to  temperance  ;  may  become  just  instead  of 
unjust,  or  at  least  may  tend  to  become  so ;  prudent  instead  of 
foolish,  or  be  on  the  way  to  become  such;  and  instead  of  cowar- 
dice, meanness,  and  timidity,  may  exhibit  the  virtues  of  fortitude 
and  courage,  especially  displayed  in  the  struggles  undergone  for 
the  sake  of  their  religion  towards  God,  the  Creator  of  all  things. 
Jesus  Christ  therefore  came  announced  beforehand,   not   by 
one  prophet,  but  by  all ;  and  it  was  a  proof  of  the  ignorance  of 
Celsus,  to  represent  a  Jew  as  saying  that  one  prophet  only  had 
predicted  the  advent  of  Christ.     But  as  this  Jew  of  Celsus, 
after  being  thus  introduced,  asserting  that  these  things  were 
indeed  in  conformity  with  his  own  law,  has  somewhere  here 
ended  his  discourse,  with  a  mention  of  other  matters  not  worthy 
of  remembrance,  I  too  shall  here  terminate  this  second  book  of 
my  answer  to  his  treatise.     But  if  God  permit,  and  the  power  , 
of  Christ  abide  in  my  soul,  I  shall  endeavour  in  the  third  book 
to  deal  with  the  subsequent  statements  of  Celsus. 

^  TSJI/  KXT    XV70U  hoaioHKV  KXI    OiOUdKCiKiOlU. 


BOOK    III. 

Chapter  i. 

]N  the  first  book  of  our  answer  to  the  \voi*k  of  Celsus, 
who  had  boastfully  entitled  the  treatise  which  he 
had  composed  against  us  A  True  Discourse,  we  have 
gone  through,  as  you  enjoined,  my  faithful  Am- 
brosius,  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  his  preface,  and  the  parts 
immediately  followinop  it,  testincj  each  one  of  his  assertions  as 
we  went  along,  until  we  finished  with  the  tirade^  of  this  Jew 
of  his,  feigned  to  have  been  delivered  against  Jesus.  And  in 
the  second  book  we  met,  as  we  best  could,  all  the  charges  con- 
tained in  the  invective^  of  the  said  Jew,  which  were  levelled  at 
us  who  are  believers  in  God  through  Christ ;  and  now  we  enter 
upon  this  third  division  of  our  discourse,  in  which  our  object  is 
to  refute  the  allegations  which  he  makes  in  his  own  person. 

He  gives  it  as  his  opinion,  that  "  the  controversy  between 
Jews  and  Christians  is  a  most  foolish  one,"  and  asserts  that 
"  the  discussions  which  we  have  with  each  other  regarding 
Christ  differ  in  no  respect  from  what  is  called  in  the  proverb 
V  '  a  fight  about  the  shadow  of  an  ass ;'  "  ^  and  thinks  that 
"  there  is  nothing  of  importance^  in  the  investigations  of  the 
Jews  and  Christians  :  for  both  believe  that  it  was  predicted  by 
the  Divine  Spirit  that  one  was  to  come  as  a  Saviour  to  the 
human  race,  but  do  not  yet  agree  on  the  point  whether  the 
person  predicted  has  actually  come  or  not."  For  we  Christians, 
indeed,  have  believed  in  Jesus,  as  He  who  came  according  to 
the  predictions  of  the  prophets.     But  the  majority  of  the  Jews 

^  ^Yiuriyoptot, ;   cf.  book  i.  c.  71. 

^  X54r«  T'^y  '^ra.oatyAot.'j  KxT^ovf/Auri;  ouov  cx.iSi';  f/,ce.-)(,^;.  On  this  proverb, 
see  Zenobius,  Centuria  Sexta,  adag.  28,  and  the  note  of  Scliottius.  Cf.  also 
Suidas,  s.v.  oi/ov  aKix. — De  la  Rue. 

85 


86  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  hi. 

are  so  far  from  believing  in  Him,  that  those  of  them  who  lived 
at  the  time  of  Plis  coming  conspired  against  Him  ;  and  those 
of  the  present  day,  approving  of  what  the  Jews  of  former 
times  dared  to  do  against  Him,  speak  evil  of  Him,  asserting 
that  it  was  by  means  of  sorcery^  that  he  passed  himself  off  for 
Him  who  was  predicted  by  the  prophets  as  the  One  who  was  to 
come,  and  Avho  was  called,  agreeably  to  the  traditions  of  the 
Jews,^  the  Christ. 

Chapter  ii. 

But  let  Celsus,  and  those  who  assent  to  his  charges,  tell  us 
whether  it  is  at  all  like  "  an  ass's  shadow,"  that  the  Jewish 
prophets  should  have  predicted  the  birth-place  of  Him  who  was 
to  be  the  ruler  of  those  who  had  lived  righteous  lives,  and  who 
are  called  the  "  heritage"  of  God  f  and  that  Emmanuel  should  be 
conceived  by  a  virgin  ;  and  that  such  signs  and  wonders  should 
be  performed  by  Him  who  was  the  subject  of  prophecy;  and  that 
His  word  should  have  such  speedy  course,  that  the  voice  of  His 
apostles  should  go  forth  into  all  the  earth ;  and  that  He  should 
undergo  certain  sufferings  after  His  condemnation  by  the  Jews ; 
and  that  He  should  rise  again  from  the  dead.  For  was  it 
by  chance*  that  the  prophets  made  these  announcements,  with 
no  persuasion  of  their  truth  in  their  minds,^  moving  them  not 
only  to  speak,  but  to  deem  their  announcements  worthy  of 
being  committed  to  writing  ?  And  did  so  great  a  nation  as 
that  of  the  Jews,  who  had  long  ago  received  a  country  of 
their  own  wherein  to  dwell,  recognise  certain  men  as  prophets, 
and  reject  others  as  utterers  of  false  predictions,  without  any 
conviction  of  the  soundness  of  the  distinction  ?  ^  And  was 
there  no  motive  which  induced  them  to  class  with  the  books  of 
Moses,  which  were  held  as  sacred,  the  words  of  those  persons 
who  were  afterwards  deemed  to  be  prophets  ?  And  can  those 
who  charge  the  Jews  and  Christians  with  folly,  show  us  how  the 
Jewish  nation  could  have  continued  to  subsist,  had  there  existed 
among  them  no  promise  of  the  knowledge  of  future  events  ? 
and  how,   while   each  of   the   surrounding   nations   believed, 

^  ticc.  Tcuog  yoYireix;.  "  x,ciTX  rx  '  lovoxiuu  Tru-rptci. 

'  Tuv  y^o-/\tAa.T tC(j'j-uv  ftspiOOg  Qiov. 

*  «/)«  yxp  ug  iTV)(,i.  ^  avv  ovoifAtci  "zridccvoryiTi. 


BooE  III.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  87 

agreeably  to  their  ancient  institutions,  tliat  they  received  oracles 
and  predictions  from  those  whom  they  accounted  gods,  this 
people  alone,  who  were  taught  to  view  with  contempt  all  those 
who  were  considered  gods  by  the  heathen,  as  not  being  gods, 
but  demons,  according  to  the  declaration  of  the  prophets,  '•  For 
all  the  gods  of  the  nations  are  demons,"^  had  among  thc_i  no 
one  who  professed  to  be  a  prophet,  and  who  could  restrain 
such  as,  from  a  desire  to  know  the  future,  were  ready  to  desert" 
to  the  demons^  of  other  nations?  Judge,  then,  whether  it 
were  not  a  necessity,  that  as  the  whole  nation  had  been  taught 
to  despise  the  deities  of  other  lands,  they  should  have  had  an 
abundance  of  prophets,  who  made  known  events  which  were  of 
far  greater  importance  in  themselves,^  and  which  surpassed 
the  oracles  of  all  other  countries. 

Chapter  hi. 

In  the  next  place,  miracles  were  performed  in  all  countries, 
or  at  least  in  many  of  them,  as  Celsus  himself  admits,  in- 
stancing the  case  of  Esculapius,  who  conferred  benefits  on 
many,  and  Avho  foretold  future  events  to  entire  cities,  which 
were  dedicated  to  him,  such  as  Tricca,  and  Epidaurus,  and 
Cos,  and  Pergamus ;  and  along  with  Esculapius  he  mentions 
Aristeas  of  Proconnesus,  and  a  certain  Clazomenian,  and 
Cleomedes  of  Astypalasa.  But  among  the  Jews  alone,  w^ho  say 
they  are  dedicated  to  the  God  of  all  things,  there  was  wrought 
no  miracle  or  sign  which  might  help  to  confirm  their  faith  in 
the  Creator  of  all  things,  and  strengthen  their  hope  of  another 
and  better  life !  But  how  can  they  imagine  such  a  state  of 
things  ?  For  they  w^ould  immediately  have  gone  over  to  the 
worship  of  those  demons  which  gave  oracles  and  performed 
cures,  and  deserted  the  God  who  was  believed,  as  far  as  words 
went,*  to  assist  them,  but  who  never  manifested  to  them  His 

^  Ps.  xcvi.  6,  Iccifcovix  ;  "  idols,"  Auth.  Yers.  Vi'e  have  in  this  passage, 
and  in  many  others,  the  identification  of  the  oxifioyi;  or  gods  of  the  heathen 
with  the  oxifiovs;  or  oaifAoviot,  "  evil  spu-its,"  or  angels,  supposed  to  be 
mentioned  in  Gen.  vi.  2. 

-  The  reading  in  the  text  is  et-jrofioT^uv,  on  Avhich  Bohereau,  with  -whom 
the  Benedictine  editor  agrees,  remarks  that  we  must  either  read  xOro/^ioT^T}- 
aovrx;,  or  understand  some  such  word  as  kroi\c<.ovi  before  a.vroy^o7^uv. 


88  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iir. 

visible  presence.  But  if  this  result  has  not  taken  place,  and 
if,  on  the  contrary,  they  have  suffered  countless  calamities 
rather  than  renounce  Judaism  and  their  law,  and  have  been 
cruelly  treated,  at  one  time  in  Assyria,  at  another  in  Persia, 
and  at  another  under  Antiochus,  is  it  not  in  keeping  with  the 
probabilities  of  the  case^  for  those  to  suppose  who  do  not  yield 
their  belief  to  their  miraculous  histories  and  prophecies,  that 
the  events  in  question  could  not  be  inventions,  but  that  a 
certain  divine  Spirit  being  in  the  holy  souls  of  the  prophets,  as 
of  men  who  underwent  any  labour  for  the  cause  of  virtue,  did 
move  them  to  prophesy  some  things  relating  to  their  contempo- 
raries, and  others  to  their  posterity,  but  chiefly  regarding  a  cer- 
tain personage  who  was  to  come  as  a  Saviour  to  the  human  race? 

Chapter  iv. 

And  if  the  above  be  the  state  of  the  case,  how  do  Jews  and 
Christians  search  after  "  the  shadow  of  an  ass,"  in  seeking  to 
ascertain  from  those  prophecies  which  they  believe  in  common, 
whether  He  who  was  foretold  has  come,  or  has  not  yet  arrived, 
and  is  still  an  object  of  expectation  ?  But  even  suppose^  it  be 
granted  to  Celsus  that  it  was  not  Jesus  who  was  announced  by 
the  prophets,  then,  even  on  such  a  hypothesis,  the  investigation 
of  the  sense  of  the  prophetic  writings  is  no  search  after  "  the 
shadow  of  an  ass,"  if  he  who  was  spoken  of  can  be  clearly 
pointed  out,  and  it  can  be  shown  both  what  sort  of  person  lie 
was  predicted  to  be,  and  what  he  was  to  do,  and,  if  possible, 
when  he  was  to  arrive.  But  in  the  preceding  pages  we  have 
already  spoken  on  the  point  of  Jesus  being  the  individual  who 
was  foretold  to  be  the  Christ,  quoting  a  few  prophecies  out  of 
a  larger  number.  Neither  Jews  nor  Christians,  then,  are 
wrong  in  assuming  that  the  prophets  spoke  under  divine  in- 
fluence ;^  but  they  are  in  error  who  form  erroneous  opinions 
respecting  Him  who  was  expected  by  the  prophets  to  come,  and 
whose  person  and  character  were  made  known  in  their  "  true 
discourses." 

Chapter  v. 

Immediately  after  these  points,  Celsus,  imagining  that  the 


Booicm.J  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  89 

Jews  are  Egyptians  by  descent,  and  had  abandoned  Egypt,  after 
revolting  against  the  Egyptian  state,  and  despising  the  customs  of 
that  people  in  matters  of  worship,  says  that  "  they  suffered  from 
the  adherents  of  Jesus,  who  believed  in  Him  as  the  Christ,  the 
same  treatment  which  they  had  inflicted  upon  the  Egyptians ; 
and  that  the  cause  which  led  to  the  new  state  of  things  ^  in 
either  instance  was  rebellion  against  the  state."  Now  let  us 
observe  what  Celsus  has  here  done.  The  ancient  Egyptians, 
after  inflicting  many  cruelties  upon  the  Hebrew  race,  who  had 
settled  in  Egypt  owing  to  a  famine  which  had  broken  out  in 
Judea,  suffered,  in  consequence  of  their  injustice  to  strangers 
and  suppliants,  that  punishment  which  divine  Providence  had 
decreed  was  to  fall  on  the  Mdiole  nation  for  having  combined 
against  an  entire  people,  who  had  been  their  guests,  and  who  had 
done  them  no  harm  ;  and  after  being  smitten  by  plagues  from 
God,  they  allowed  them,  with  difficulty,  and  after  a  brief  period, 
to  go  wherever  they  liked,  as  being  unjustly  detained  in  slavery. 
Because,  then,  they  were  a  selfish  people,  who  honoured  those 
who  were  in  any  degree  related  to  them  far  more  than  they  did 
strangers  of  better  lives,  there  is  not  an  accusation  which  they 
have  omitted  to  bring  against  Moses  and  the  Hebrews, — not  alto- 
gether denying,  indeed,  the  miracles  and  wonders  done  by  him, 
but  alleging  that  they  were  wrought  by  sorcery,  and  not  by 
divine  power.  Moses,  however,  not  as  a  magician,  but  as  a 
devout  man,  and  one  devoted  to  the  God  of  all  things,  and  a 
partaker  in  the  divine  Spirit,  both  enacted  laws  for  the  Hebrews, 
according  to  the  suggestions  of  the  Divinity,  and  recorded  events 
as  they  happened  with  perfect  fidelity. 

Chapter  vi. 

Celsus,  thex'efore,  not  investigating  in  a  spirit  of  impartiality 
tho  facts,  which  are.  related  by  the  Egyptians  in  one  way,  and 
by  the  Hebrews  in  another,  but  being  bewitched,  as  it  were,^ 
in  favour  of  the  former,  accepted  as  true  the  statements  of 
those  who  had  oppressed  the  strangers,  and  declared  that  the 
Hebrews,  who  had  been  unjustly  treated,  had  departed  from 
Egypt  after  revolting  against  the  Egyptians, — not  observing  how 

^  Upox.x-x'hYif'Stlg  ug  vTro  tpi'KTpuv  ruv  AlyvTrri'au. 


90  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  nr. 

impossible  it  was  for  so  great  a  multitude  of  rebellious  Egyp- 
tians to  become  a  nation,  which,  dating  its  origin  from  the 
said  revolt,  should  chancre  its  language  at  the  time  of  its  rebel- 
lion,  so  that  those  who  up  to  that  time  made  use  of  the 
Egyptian  tongue,  should  completely  adopt,  all  at  once,  the 
language  of  the  Hebrews !  Let  it  be  granted,  however, 
according  to  his  supposition,  that  on  abandoning  Egypt  they 
did  conceive  a  hatred  also  of  their  mother  tongue,^  how  did  it 
happen  that  after  so  doing  they  did  not  rather  adopt  the 
Syrian  or  Phoenician  language,  instead  of  preferring  the 
Hebrew,  which  is  different  from  both  ?  But  reason  seems  to 
me  to  demonstrate  that  the  statement  is  false,  which  makes 
those  who  were  Egyptians  by  race  to  have  revolted  against 
Egyptians,  and  to  have  left  the  country,  and  to  have  proceeded 
to  Palestine,  and  occupied  the  land  now  called  Judea.  For 
Hebrew  was  the  language  of  their  fathers  before  their  descent 
into  Egypt ;  and  the  Hebrew  letters,  employed  by  Moses  in 
writing  those  five  books  which  are  deemed  sacred  by  the  Jews, 
were  different  from  those  of  the  Egyptians. 

Chapter  vii. 

In  like  manner,  as  the  statement  is  false  "  that  the  Hebrews, 
being  [originally]  Egyptians,  dated  the  commencement  [of 
their  political  existence]  from  the  time  of  their  rebellion,"  so 
also  is  this,  "  that  in  the  days  of  Jesus  others  who  were  Jews 
rebelled  against  the  Jewish  state,  and  became  His  followers ;" 
for  neither  Celsus  nor  they  who  think  with  him  are  able  to 
point  out  any  act  on  the  part  of  Christians  which  savours  of 
rebellion.  And  yet,  if  a  revolt  had  led  to  the  formation  of  the 
Christian  commonwealth,  so  that  it  derived  its  existence  in  this 
way  from  that  of  the  Jews,  who  were  permitted  to  take  up  arms 
in  defence  of  the  members  of  their  families,  and  to  slay  their 
enemies,  the  Christian  Lawgiver  would  not  have  altogether  for- 
bidden the  putting  of  men  to  death ;  and  yet  He  nowhere 
'teaches  that  it  is  right  for  His  own  disciples  to  offer  violence  to 
jany  one,  however  wicked.  For  He  did  not  deem  it  in  keeping 
I  with  such  laws  as  His,  which  were  derived  from  a  divine  source, 
'  to  allow  the  killing  of  any  individual  whatever.     Nor  would 


Book  hi.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  91 

the  Christians,  had  they  owed  their  origin  to  a  rebellion,  have 
adopted  laws  of  so  exceedingly  mild  a  character  as  not  to 
allow  them,  when  it  was  their  fate  to  be  slain  as  sheep,  on  any 
occasion  to  resist  their  persecutors.  And  truly,  if  Ave  look  a 
little  deeper  into  things,  we  may  say  regarding  the  exodus  from 
Egypt,  that  it  is  a  miracle  if  a  whole  nation  at  once  adopted  the 
language  called  Hebrew,  as  if  it  had  been  a  gift  from  heaven, 
when  one  of  their  own  prophets  said,  "  As  they  went  forth 
from  Egypt,  they  heard  a  language  which  they  did  not  under- 
stand."^ 

Chapter  viii. 

In  the  following  way,  also,  we  may  conclude  that  they  who 
came  out  of  Egypt  with  Moses  were  not  Egyptians  ;  for  if  they 
had  been  Egyptians,  their  names  also  would  be  Egyptian, 
because  in  every  language  the  designations  [of  persons  and 
things]  are  kindred  to  the  language.^  But  if  it  is  certain,  from 
the  names  being  Hebrew,  that  the  people  were  not  Egyptians, — 
and  the  Scriptures  are  full  of  Hebrew  names,  and  these  be- 
stowed, too,  upon  their  children  while  they  were  in  Egypt, — it 
is  clear  that  the  Egyptian  account  is  false,  which  asserts  that 
they  were  Egyptians,  and  went  forth  from  Egypt  with  Moses. 
Now  it  is  absolutely  certain^  that,  being  descended,  as  the 
Mosaic  history  records,  from  Hebrew  ancestors,  they  employed 
a  language  from  which  they  also  took  the  names  which  they 
conferred  upon  their  children.  But  with  regard  to  the  Chris- 
tians, because  they  were  taught  not  to  avenge  themselves 
upon  their  enemies  (and  have  thus  observed  laws  of  a  mild  and 
philanthropic  character)  ;  and  because  they  would  not,  although 
able,  have  made  war  even  if  they  had  received  authority  to  do 
so, — they  have  obtained  this  reward  from  God,  that  He  has 
always  warred  in  their  behalf,  and  on  certain  occasions  has 
restrained  those  who  rose  up  against  them  and  desired  to 
destroy  them.  For  in  order  to  remind  others,  that  by  seeing  a 
feiu  engaged  in  a  struggle  for  their  religion,  they  also  might  be 
better  fitted  to  despise  death,  some,  on  special  occasions,  and 
these  individuals  who  can  be  easily  numbered,  have  endured 
death   for  the  sake  of  Christianity, — God  not  permitting  the 

^  Cf.  Ps.  Ixxxi.  5.        "  ^v/ysuslg  daiv  oti  'Trpoan'/opixi.         ^  '2x!pa);kiictpyig. 


92  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  hi. 

whole  nation  to  be  exterminated,  but  desiring  that  it  should 
continue,  and  that  the  whole  world  should  be  filled  with  this 
salutary  and  religious  doctrine.  And  again,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  those  who  were  of  weaker  minds  might  recover  their 
courage  and  rise  superior  to  the  thought  of  deatli,  God  inter- 
posed liis  providence  on  behalf  of  believers,  dispersing  by  an 
act  of  His  will  alone  all  the  conspiracies  formed  against  them ; 
so  that  neither  kings,  nor  rulers,  nor  the  populace,  might  be 
able  to  rage  against  them  beyond  a  certain  point.  Such,  then, 
is  our  answer  to  the  assertions  of  Celsus,  "  that  a  revolt  was 
the  original  commencement  of  the  ancient  Jewish  state,  and 
subsequently  of  Christianity." 

Chapter  ix. 

But  since  he  is  manifestly  guilty  of  falsehood  in  the  state- 
ments which  follow,  let  us  examine  his  assertion  when  he  says, 
"  If  all  men  wished  to  become  Christians,  the  latter  would  not 
desire  such  a  result."  Now  that  the  above  statement  is  false 
is  clear  from  this,  that  Christians  do  not  neglect,  as  far  as 
in  them  lies,  to  take  measures  to  disseminate  their  doctrine 
throughout  the  whole  world.  Some  of  them,  accordingly,  have 
made  it  their  business  to  itinerate  not  only  through  cities,  but 
even  villages  and  country  houses,^  that  they  might  make  con- 
verts to  God.  And  no  one  would  maintain  that  they  did  this 
for  the  sake  of  gain,  when  sometimes  they  would  not  accept 
even  necessary  sustenance ;  or  if  at  any  time  they  were  pressed 
by  a  necessity  of  this  sort,  were  contented  with  the  mere  supply 
of  their  wants,  although  many  were  willing  to  share  [their 
abundance]  with  them,  and  to  bestow  help  upon  them  far  above 
their  need.  At  the  present  day,  indeed,  when,  owing  to  the 
multitude  of  Chi'istian  believers,  not  only  rich  men,  but  persons 
of  rank,  and  delicate  and  high-born  ladies,  receive  the  teachers 
of  Christianity,  some  perhaps  will  dare  to  say  that  it  is  for  the 
sake  of  a  little  glory  ^  that  certain  individuals  assume  the  office 
of  Christian  instructors.  It  is  impossible,  however,  rationally 
to  entertain  such  a  suspicion  with  respect  to  Christianity  in 
its  beginnings,  when  the  danger  incurred,  especially  by  its 
teachers,  was  great ;   while  at   the  present  day  the  discredit 


Book  hi. J  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  93 

attaching  to  it  among  the  rest  of  mankind  is  greater  than  any 
supposed  honour  enjoyed  among  those  who  hokl  the  same 
belief,  especially  when  such  honour  is  not  shared  by  all.  It  is 
false,  then,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  to  say  that  "  if 
all  men  wished  to  become  Christians,  the  latter  would  not 
desire  such  a  result." 

Chapter  x. 

But  observe  what  he  alleges  as  a  proof  of  his  statement : 
''  Christians  at  first  were  few  in  number,  and  held  the  same 
opinions;  but  when  they  grew  to  be  a  great  multitude,  they 
were  divided  and  separated,  each  wishing  to  have  his  own 
mdividual  party  :^  for  this  was  their  object  from  the  beginning." 
That  Christians  at  first  were  few  in  number,  in  comparison 
with  the  multitudes  who  subsequently  became  Christian,  is  un- 
doubted ;  and  yet,  all  things  considered,  they  were  not  so  very 
few."  For  what  stirred  up  the  envy  of  the  Jews  against  Jesus, 
and  aroused  them  to  conspire  against  Him,  was  the  great 
number  of  those  who  followed  Him  into  the  wilderness, — five 
thousand  men  on  one  occasion,  and  four  thousand  on  another, 
having  attended  Him  thither,  without  including  the  women  and 
children.  For  such  was  the  charm  ^  of  Jesus'  words,  that  not 
only  were  men  willing  to  follow  Him  to  the  wilderness,  but 
women  also,  forgetting  ■*  the  weakness  of  their  sex  and  a  regard 
for  outward  propriety  ^  in  thus  following  their  Teacher  into 
desert  places.  Children,  too,  who  are  altogether  unaffected 
by  such  emotions,^  either  following  their  parents,  or  perhaps 
attracted  also  by  His  divinity,  in  order  that  it  might  be  im- 
planted within  them,  became  His  followers  along  with  their 
parents.  But  let  it  be  granted  that  Christians  were  few  in 
number  at  the  beginning,  how  does  that  help  to  prove  that 
Christians  would  be  unwillins;  to  make  all  men  believe  the  doc- 
trine  of  the  gospel  ? 

^  aTtkait;  loixg.  ^  kxi  rot  ov  TTocurr)  vj^ccv  a'Aiyoi.  "^  /'yy^. 

*  The  reading  in  Spencer's  and  the  Benedictine  edition  is  CTroTi^vofiiuoi;, 
for  which  Lommatzsch  reads  vTro/zi/^.vyi/^ivxg. 
^  xxl  TO  0QX.0I/V,  ^  (x,T7u.i}iarx,rx. 


94  OFJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iii. 

Chapter  xi. 

He  says,  in  addition,  that  "  all  the  Clu'Istians  were  of  one 
,mind,"  not  observing,  even  in  this  particular,  that  from  the 
'  beginning  there  were  differences  of  opinion  among  believers 
reffardinn;  the  meanincr-^  of  the  books  held  to  be  divine.  At  all 
events,  while  the  apostles  were  still  preaching,  and  while  eye- 
witnesses of  [the  works  of]  Jesus  were  still  teaching  His  doc- 
trine, there  was  no  small  discussion  among  the  converts  from 
Judaism  regarding  Gentile  believers,  on  the  point  whether  they 
ought  to  observe  Jewish  customs,  or  should  reject  the  burden 
of  clean  and  unclean  meats,  as  not  being  obligatory  on  those 
who  had  abandoned  their  ancestral  Gentile  customs,  and  had 
become  believers  in  Jesus.  Nay,  even  in  the  epistles  of  Paul, 
who  was  contemporary  with  those  who  had  seen  Jesus,  certain 
particulars  are  found  mentioned  as  having  been  the  subject  of 
dispute, — viz.  respecting  the  resurrection,^  and  whether  it  were 
already  past,  anjtl  the  day  of  the  Lord,  whether  it  were  nigh  at 
hand^  or  not.  Nay,  the  very  exhortation  to  "avoid  profane 
and  vain  babblings,  and  oppositions  of  science  falsely  so  called : 
which  some  professing,  have  erred  concerning  the  faith,"*  is 
enough  to  show  that  from  the  very  beginning,  when,  as  Celsus 
imagines,  believers  were  few  in  number,  there  were  certain  doc- 
trines interpreted  in  different  ways.^ 

Chapter  xii. 

In  the  next  place,  since  he  reproaches  us  with  the  existence 
of  heresies  in  Christianity  as  being  a  ground  of  accusation 
against  it,  saying  that  "  when  Christians  had  greatly  increased 
in  numbers,  they  were  divided  and  split  up  into  factions,  each 
individual  desiring  to  have  his  own  party ; "  and  further,  that 
"  being  thus  separated  through  their  numbers,  they  confute 
one  another,  still  having,  so  to  speak,  one  name  in  common,  if 
indeed  they  still  retain  it.  And  this  is  the  only  thing  which 
they  are  yet  ashamed  to  abandon,  while  other  matters  are 
determined  in  different  ways  by  the  various  sects."  In  reply 
to  which,  we  say  that  heresies  of  different  kinds  have  never 

1  'E;coopi'^i^.  2  Qi  I  Cor,  XV.  12  sqq.  3  Cf.  2  Thess.  ii.  2. 

*  Cf.  1  Tim.  vi.  20,  ^  Tive;  -Tza.piy.loxetl- 


Book  hi. J  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  95 

originated  from  any  matter  in  which  the  principle  involved 
I  was  not  important  and  beneficial  to  human  life.  For  since  the 
science  of  medicine  is  useful  and  necessary  to  the  human  race, 
and  many  are  the  points  of  dispute  in  it  respecting  the  manner 
of  curing  bodies,  there  are  found,  for  this  reason,  numerous 
heresies  confessedly  prevailing  in  the  science  of  medicine  among 
the  Greeks,  and  also,  I  suppose,  among  those  barbarous  nations 
who  profess  to  employ  medicine.  And,  again,  since  philosophy 
makes  a  profession  of  the  truth,  and  promises  a  knowledge  of 
existing  things  with  a  view  to  the  regulation  of  life,  and 
endeavours  to  teach  what  is  advantageous  to  our  race,  and  since 
the  investigation  of  these  matters  is  attended  with  great  differ- 
ences of  opinion,^  innumerable  heresies  have  consequently 
sprung  up  in  philosophy,  some  of  which  are  more  celebrated 
than  others.  Even  Judaism  itself  afforded  a  pretext  for  the 
origination  of  heresies,  in  the  different  acceptation  accorded  to 
the  writings  of  Moses  and  those  of  the  prophets.  So,  then, 
seeing  Christianity  appeared  an  object  of  veneration  to  men, 
not  to  the  more  servile  class  alone,  as  Celsus  supposes,  but  to 
many  among  the  Greeks  who  were  devoted  to  literary  pursuits," 
there  necessarily  originated  heresies, — not  at  all,  however,  as  the 

i result  of  faction  and  strife,  but  through  the  earnest  desire  of 
many  literary  men  to  become  acquainted  with  the  doctrines  of 
Christianity.  The  consequence  of  which  was,  that,  taking  in 
different  acceptations  those  discourses  which  were  believed  by 
all  to  be  divine,  there  arose  heresies,  which  received  their  names 
from  those  individuals  who  admired,  indeed,  the  origin  of 
Christianity,  but  who  were  led,  in  some  way  or  other,  by  certain 
plausible  reasons,  to  discordant  views.  And  yet  no'  one  would 
act  rationally  in.  avoiding  medicine  because  of  its  heresies;  nor 
would  lielvho  aimed  at  that  which  is  seemly^  entertain  a  hatred 
of  philosophy,  and  adduce  its  many  heresies  as  a  pretext  for  his 
antipathy.  And  so  neither  are  the  sacred  books  of  Moses  and 
the  prophets  to  be  condemned  on  account  of  the  heresies  in 
Judaism. 

Chapter  xiii. 
Now,  if  these  arguments  hold  good,   why  should  we  not 


96  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iii. 

defend,  in  the  same  way,  the  existence  of  heresies  in  Chris- 
tianity ?  And  respecting  these,  Paul  appears  to  me  to  speak 
in  a  very  striking  manner  when  he  says,  ''  For  there  must  be 
heresies  among  you,  that  they  who  are  approved  may  be  made 
manifest  among  you."  ^  For  as  that  man  is  "approved"  in  medi- 
cine who,  on  account  of  his  experience  in  various  [medical] 
heresies,  and  his  honest  examination  of  the  majority  of  them, 
has  selected  the  preferable  system, — and  as  the  great  proficient 
in  philosophy  is  he  who,  after  acquainting  himself  experimen- 
tally with  the  various  views,  has  given  in  his  adhesion  to  the 
best, — so  I  would  say  that  the  w-isest  Christian  was  he  who  had 
carefully  studied  the  heresies  both  of  Judaism  and  Christianity. 
Whereas  he  who  finds  fault  w^ith  Christianity  because  of  its 
heresies  would  find  fault  also  with  the  teaching  of  Socrates, 
from  whose  school  have  issued  many  others  of  discordant  views. 
Nay,  the  opinions  of  Plato  might  be  chargeable  with  error,  on 
account  of  Aristotle's  having  separated  from  his  school,  and 
founded  a  ncAV  one, — on  which  subject  we  have  remarked  in  the 
preceding  book.  But  it  appears  to  me  that  Celsus  has  become 
acquainted  with  certain  heresies  which  do  not  possess  even  the 
name  of  Jesus  in  common  with  us.  Perhaps  he  had  heard  of 
the  sects  called  Ophites  and  Cainites,  or  some  others  of  a 
similar  nature,  which  had  departed  in  all  points  from  the 
teaching  of  Jesus.  And  yet  surely  this  furnishes  no  ground 
for  a  charge  against  the  Christian  doctrine. 

Chapter  xiv. 

After  this  he  continues  :  "  Their  union  is  the  more  wonderful, 
the  more  it  can  be  shown  to  be  based  on  no  substantial  reason. 
And  yet  rebellion  is  a  substantial  reason,  as  well  as  the  advan- 
tages which  accrue  from  it,  and  the  fear  of  external  enemies. 
Such  are  the  causes  which  give  stability  to  their  faith."  To 
this  we  answer,  that  our  union  does  thus  rest  upon  a  reason,  or 
rather  not  upon  a  reason,  but  upon  the  divine  working,^  so  that 
its  commencement  was  God's  teaching  men,  in  the  prophetical 
writings,  to  expect  the  advent  of  Christ,  who  was  to  be  the 
Saviour  of  mankind.  For  in  so  far  as  this  point  is  not  really 
refuted  (although  it  may  seem  to  be  by  unbelievers),  in  the 
^  1  Cor.  xi.  19.  "  Siioii  tuipyiixs. 


Book  III.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  97 

same  proportion  is  the  doctrine  commended  as  the  doctrine  of 
God,  and  Jesus  shown  to  be  the  Son  of  God  both  before  and 
after  His  incarnation.  I  maintain,  moreover,  that  even  after 
His  incarnation,  He  is  always  found  by  those  who  possess  the 
acutest  spiritual  vision  to  be  most  God-like,  and  to  have  really 
come  down  to  us  from  God,  and  to  have  derived  His  origin  or 
subsequent  development  not  from  human  wisdom,  but  from 
the  manifestation  ^  of  God  within  Him,  who  by  His  manifold 
wisdom  and  miracles  established  Judaism  first,  and  Christianity 
afterwards  ;  and  the  assertion  that  rebellion,  and  the  advantages 
attending  it,  were  the  originating  causes  of  a  doctrine  which  has 
converted  and  improved  so  many  men  was  effectually  refuted. 

Chapter  xv. 

But  again,  that  it  is  not  the  fear  of  external  enemies  which 
strengthens  our  union,  is  plain  from  the  fact  that  this  cause, 
bj'  GocTswill^  has  already,  for  a  considerable  time,  ceased  to 
exist.  And  it  is  probable  that  the  secure  existence,  so  far  as 
regards  the  world,  enjoyed  by  believers  at  present,  will  come 
to  an  end,  since  those  who  calumniate  Christianity  in  every 
way  are  again  attributing  the  present  frequency  of  rebellion  to 
the  multitude  of  believers,  and  to  their  not  being  persecuted  by 
the  authorities  as  in  old  times.  For  we  have  learned  from  the 
gospel  neither  to  relax  our  efforts  in  days  of  peace,  and  to  give 
ourselves  up  to  repose,  nor,  when  the  world  makes  war  upon 
us,  to  become  cowards,  and  apostatize  from  the  love  of  the  God 
of  all  things  which  is  in  Jesus  Christ,  And  w^e  clearly  mani- 
fest the  illustrious  nature  of  our  origin,  and  do  not  (as  Celsus 
imagines)  conceal  it,  wlien  we  impress  upon  the  minds  of  our 
first  converts  a  contempt  for  idols,  and  images  of  all  kinds,  and, 
besides  this,  raise  their  thoughts  from  the  worship  of  created 
things  instead  of  God,  and  elevate  them  to  the  universal  Creator; 
clearly  showing  Him  to  be  the  subject  of  prophecy,  both  from 
the  predictions  regarding  Him — of  which  there  are  many — and 
from  those  traditions  which  have  been  carefully  investigated  by 
such  as  are  able  intelligently  to  understand  the  Gospels,  and 
the  declarations  of  the  apostles. 

OEIG. — VOL.  II.  Of 


98  OPdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  hi. 


Chapter  xvi. 

"  But  what  the  legends  are  of  every  kind  which  we  gather 
together,  or  the  terrors  which  we  invent,"  as  Celsus  without 
proof  asserts,  he  wlio  hkes  may  show.  I  know  not,  indeed, 
what  he  means  by  "  inventing  terrors,"  unless  it  be  our  doctrine  of 
God  as  Judge,  and  of  the  condemnation  of  men  for  their  deeds, 
with  the  various  proofs  derived  partly  from  Scripture,  partly 
from  probable  reason.  And  yet — for  truth  is  precious — Celsus 
says,  at  the  close,  "  Forbid  that  either  I,  or  these,  or  any  other 
individual  should  ever  reject  the  doctrine  respecting  the  future 
punishment  of  the  wicked  and  the  reward  of  the  good  !"  What 
terrors,  then,  if  you  except  the  doctrine  of  punishment,  do  we 
invent  and  impose  upon  mankind  ?  And  if  he  should  reply 
that  "  we  weave  together  erroneous  opinions  drawn  from 
ancient  sources,  and  trumpet  them  aloud,  and  sound  them  be- 
fore men,  as  the  priests  of  Cybele  clash  their  cymbals  in  the 
ears  of  those  who  are  being  initiated  in  their  mysteries ; "  ^  we 
shall  ask  him  in  reply,  "  Erroneous  opinions  from  what  ancient 
sources?"  For,  whether  he  refers  to  Grecian  accounts,  which 
taught  the  existence  of  courts  of  justice  under  the  earth,  or 
Jewish,  which,  among  other  things,  predicted  the  life  that  follows 
the  present  one ;  he  will  be  unable  to  show  that  we  who,  striving 
to  believe  on  grounds  of  reason,  regulate  our  lives  in  conformity 
with  such  doctrines,  have  failed  correctly  to  ascertain  the  truth." 

Chapter  xvii. 

He  wishes,  indeed,  to  compare  the  articles  of  our  faith  to 
those  of  the  Egyptians ;  "  among  v.-hom,  as  you  approach  their 
sacred  edifices,  are  to  be  seen  splendid  enclosures,  and  groves, 
and  large  and  beautiful  gateways,^  and  wonderful  temples,  and 
magnificent  tents  around  them,  and  ceremonies  of  worship  full 
of  superstition  and  mystery ;  but  when  you  have  entered,  and 

^  T66  Tov  TToCKaiw  hoyov  '^xpof/.ovai/.xra.  avf/.'T^'KuTTCt'jTig,  rovroig  -TrpoKU- 
Tu.v'hovf/.iv  Kctl  'TTfax.a.zri-^VJ^iu  Toi/g  cLvSpuT^ov;'  oi;  oi  TOff  y,opv[iccvTt^oi/.iuovg 

^  ovx,  cL'j  i-^oi  -TTapaaTYidUt,  on  hf^-'^  l^'^'-'  ^•'■'  Trapxy-oiKJi^uui  yivoy.ivot  rr,;  d'hri- 
6uctg,  0(70/  '/£  ■:Tsipuy,sdx  y.zTX,  'Aoyov  TnaTiusiv,  'TTpo;  rx  toikvtcc  ^ufciv  o6yf/.x~x. 
^  TrpoTTv'Kxiuv  (/.iyidri  rs  kx\  kcOJ^yi. 


Book  III.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  99 

passed  witliiu,  the  object  of  worship  is  seen  to  be  a  cat,  or  an 
ape,  or  a  crocodile,  or  a  goat,  or  a  dog ! "  Now,  what  is  the 
resemblance  ^  between  us  and  the  splendours  of  Egyptian  wor- 
ship which  are  seen  by  those  who  draw  near  their  temples? 
And  where  is  the  resemblance  to  those  irrational  animals  which 
are  worshipped  within,  after  you  pass  through  the  splendid 
gateways  ?  Are  our  prophecies,  and  the  God  of  all  things,  and 
the  injunctions  against  images,  objects  of  reverence  in  the  view 
of  Celsus  also,  and  Jesus  Christ  crucified,  the  analogue  to  the 
worship  of  the  irrational  animal  ?  But  if  he  should  assert  this 
— and  I  do  not  think  that  he  will  maintain  anything  else — we 
shall  reply  that  we  have  spoken  in  the  preceding  pages  at 
greater  length  in  defence  of  those  charges  affecting  Jesus, 
showing  that  what  appeared  to  have  happened  to  Him  in  the 
capacity  of  His  human  nature,  was  fraught  with  benefit  to  all 
men,  and  with  salvation  to  the  whole  world. 

Chapter  xviii. 

In  the  next  place,  referring  to  the  statements  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, who  talk  loftily  about  irrational  animals,  and  who  assert 
that  they  are  a  sort  of  symbols  of  God,  or  anything  else  which 
their  prophets,  so  termed,  are  accustomed  to  call  them,  Celsus 
saj's  that  "  an  impression  is  produced  in  the  minds  of  those 
>vho  have  learned  these  things ;  that  they  have  not  been  ini- 
tiated in  vain ; "  ^  while  with  regard  to  the  truths  which  are 
taught  in  our  writings  to  those  wlio  have  made  progress  in  the 
study  of  Christianity  (through  that  which  is  called  by  Paul  the 
gift  consisting  in  the  "word  of  wisdom"  through  the  Spirit, 
and  in  the  "  word  of  knowledge  "  according  to  the  Spirit),  Celsus 
does  not  seem  even  to  have  formed  an  idea,^  judging  not  only 
from  what  he  has  already  said,  but  from  what  he  subsequently 
adds  in  his  attack  upon  the  Christian  system,  when  he  asserts 
that  Christians  "repel  every  wise  man  from  the  doctrine  of 
their  faith,  and  invite  only  the  ignorant  and  the  vulgar ; "  on 
which  assertions  we  shall  remark  in  due  time,  when  we  come  to 
the  proper  place. 

^  TO  (x.yoi'ho'/ov. 

'  (pcfj-omiccv  l^x'TraaTi'K'Kiiv  to<j  zxtiTCi  jy.Sf^xSriy.oaiv,  on  ft'^  f/^xrriv  fCifivriVTCti. 

*  7irs(pxi>Tcia6ai. 


100  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iii. 


Chapter  xix. 

He  says,  indeed,  that  "  we  ridicule  the  Egyptians,  aUhough 
tliey  present  many  by  no  means  contemptible  mysteries^  for 
our  consideration,  when  they  teach  us  that  such  rites  are  acts 
of  worship  offered  to  eternal  ideas,  and  not,  as  the  multitude 
think,  to  ephemeral  animals ;  and  that  we  are  silly,  because  we 
introduce  nothing  nobler  than  the  goats  and  dogs  of  the  Egyp- 
tian worship  in  our  narratives  about  Jesus."  Now  to  this  we 
reply,  "  Good  sir,"  [suppose  that]  you  are  right  in  eulogizing 
the  fact  that  the  Egyptians  present  to  view  many  by  no  means 
contemptible  mysteries,  and  obscure  explanations  about  the 
animals  [worshipped]  among  them,  you  nevertheless  do  not  act 
consistently  in  accusing  us  as  if  you  believed  that  xve  had 
nothing  to  state  which  was  worthy  of  consideration,  but  that  all 
our  doctrines  were  contemptible  and  of  no  account,  seeing  we 
unfold^  the  narratives  concerning  Jesus  according  to  the 
'  wisdom  of  the  word '  to  those  who  are  ^  perfect '  in  Chris- 
tianity. Regarding  whom,  as  being  competent  to  understand 
the  wisdom  that  is  in  Christianity,  Paul  says  :  '  AVe  speak 
wisdom  among  them  that  are  perfect ;  yet  not  the  wisdom  of 
this  world,  nor  of  the  princes  of  this  world,  who  come  to  nought, 
but  we  speak  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mystery,  even  the 
hidden  wisdom  which  God  ordained  before  the  world  unto  our 
glory,  which  none  of  the  princes  of  this  world  knew.'  "^ 

Chapter  xx. 

And  we  say  to  those  who  hold  similar  opinions  to  those  of 
Celsus  :  "Paul  then,  we  are  to  suppose,  had  before  his  mind 
the  idea  of  no  pre-eminent  wisdom  when  he  professed  to  speak 
wisdom  among  them  that  are  perfect?"  Noav,  as  he  spoke 
with  his  customary  boldness  when  in  making  such  a  profession 
he  said  that  he  was  possessed  of  no  wisdom,  we  shall  say  in 
reply :  first  of  all  examine  the  epistles  of  him  who  utters  these 
words,  and  look  carefully  at  the  meaning  of  each  expression 
in  them — say,  in  those  to  the  Ephesians,  and  Colossians,  and 
Thessalonians,  and  Philippians,  and  Romans, — and  shoAV  two 
things,  both  that  you  understand  Paul's  words,  and  that  you 

^  ctli/r/i^UTcc.  ^  u  yiv'jcch.  ^  O/slc&sJw.wsy,  ■*  1  Cor.  ii.  6-8. 


Book  in.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  101 

can  demonstrate  any  of  them  to  be  silly  or  foolish.  For  if 
any  one  give  himself  to  their  attentive  perusal,  I  am  Avell 
assured  either  that  he  will  be  amazed  at  the  understanding  of 
the  man  who  can  clothe  great  ideas  in  common  language ;  or 
if  he  be  not  amazed,  he  will  only  exhibit  himself  in  a  ridiculous 
light,  whether  he  simply  state  the  meaning  of  the  writer  as  if 
he  had  comprehended  it,  or  try  to  controvert  and  confute  what 
he  only  imagined  that  he  understood ! 

Chapter  xxr. 

And  I  have  not  yet  spoken  of  the  observance  *  of  all  that  is 
written  in  the  Gospels,  each  one  of  which  contains  much 
doctrine  difficult  to  be  understood,  not  merely  by  the  multitude, 
but  even  by  certain  of  the  more  intelligent,  including  a  very 
profound  explanation  of  the  parables  which  Jesus  delivered  to 
"  those  without,"  while  reserving  the  exhibition  of  their  full 
meaning^  for  those  who  had  passed  beyond  the  stage  of 
exoteric  teaching,  and  who  came  to  Him  privately  in  the  house. 
And  when  he  comes  to  understand  it,  he  will  admire  the 
reason  why  some  are  said  to  be  "  without,"  and  others  "  in  the 
house."  And  again,  who  would  not  be  filled  with  astonishment 
that  is  able  to  comprehend  the  movements"  of  Jesus  ;  ascending 
at  one  time  a  mountain  for  the  purpose  of  delivering  certain 
discourses,  or  of  performing  certain  miracles,  or  for  His  own 
transfiguration,  and  descending  again  to  heal  the  sick  and  those 
who  were  unable  to  follow  Him  whither  His  disciples  went  ? 
But  it  is  not  the  appropriate  time  to  describe  at  present  the 
truly  venerable  and  divine  contents  of  the  Gospels,  or  the  mind 
of  Christ — that  is,  the  wisdom  and  the  word — contained  in  the 
writings  of  Paul,  But  what  we  have  said  is  sufficient  by  way 
of  answer  to  the  unphilosophic  sneers  ^  of  Celsus,  in  comparing 
the  inner  mysteries  of  the  church  of  God  to  the  cats,  and  apes, 
and  crocodiles,  and  goats,  and  dogs  of  Egypt. 

Chapter  xxii. 

But  this  low  jester'^  Celsus,  omitting  no  species  of  mockery 
and  ridicule  which  can  be  employed  against  us,  mentions  iu  his 


102  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  hi. 

treatise  the  Dioscuri,  and  Hercules,  and  ^sculapius,  and 
Dionysus,  who  are  believed  by  the  Greeks  to  have  become 
gods  after  being  men,  and  says  that  "  we  cannot  bear  to  call 
such  beings  gods,  because  they  were  at  first  men,^  and  yet  they 
manifested  many  noble  qualities,  which  were  displayed  for  the 
benefit  of  mankind,  while  we  assert  that  Jesus  was  seen  after 
His  death  by  His  own  followers ;"  and  he  brings  against  us  an 
additional  charge,  as  if  we  said  that  "  He  was  seen  indeed,  but 
was  only  a  shadow  ! "  Now  to  this  we  reply,  that  it  was  very 
artful  of  Celsus  not  here  clearly  to  indicate  that  he  did  not 
regard  these  beings  as  gods,  for  he  was  afraid  of  the  opinion 
of  those  who  might  peruse  his  treatise,  and  who  might  suppose 
him  to  be  an  atheist ;  whereas,  if  he  had  paid  respect  to  what 
appeared  to  him  to  be  the  truth,  he  would  not  have  feigned  to 
regard  them  as  gods.^  Now  to  either  of  the  allegations  we  are 
ready  with  an  answer.  Let  us,  accordingly,  to  those  who  do 
not  regard  them  as  gods  reply  as  follows  :  These  beings,  then, 
are  not  gods  at  all ;  but  agreeably  to  the  view  of  those  who 
think  that  the  soul  of  man  perishes  immediately  [after  death], 
the  souls  of  these  men  also  perished ;  or  according  to  the 
opinion  of  those  who  say  that  the  soul  continues  to  subsist  or 
is  immortal,  these  men  continue  to  exist  or  are  immortal,  and 
they  are  not  gods  but  heroes, — or  not  even  heroes,  but  simply 
souls.  If,  then,  on  the  one  hand,  you  suppose  them  oiot  to  exist, 
we  shall  have  to  prove  the  doctrine  of  the  soul's  immortality, 
which  is  to  us  a  doctrine  of  pre-eminent  importance;^  if,  on 
the  other,  they  do  exist,  we  have  still  to  prove ^  the  doctrine  of 
immortality,  not  only  by  what  the  Greeks  have  so  well  said 
refrardincc  it,  but  also  in  a  manner  agreeable  to  the  teaching  of 
Holy  Scripture.  And  we  shall  demonstrate  that  it  is  impos- 
sible for  those  who  were  polytheists  during  their  lives  to  obtain 

1  The  reading  in  the  text  is  kuI  tt^wto/,  for  which  Bohereau  proposes 
TO  TrpZrou,  which  we  have  adopted  in  the  translation. 

2  We  have  followed  in  the  translation  the  emendation  of  Guietus,  who 
proposes  si  Zs  rv)v  Cpciivo,u.ivnu  uvroi  ciT^tidiictu  i'Trpsa/isvasv,  oiix.  ecu,  x.t.A.,  instead 
of  the  textual  reading,  u  n  rvi;  (pxivofiiVYi;  xvru)  ix.?\.Yi6iicc;  i-irpkailsvaiv,  ovk 
cLv,  x.r.A. 

^  ro'j  "po-riyovfiiva'j  i)ju,tu  'Trtpl  ■■l/vx/h;  KctrunnivaoTiQu  "Koyou. 
*  Bohereau  conjectures,  with  great  probability,  that  instead  of  ctTroliK- 
nou,  we  ought  to  read  cc-TrolnKTiov. 


Book  hi.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  103 

a  better  country  and  position  after  their  departure  from  this 
world,  by  quoting  the  histories  that  are  related  of  them,  in 
which  is  recorded  the  great  dissoluteness  of  Hercules,  and  his 
effeminate  bondage  with  Omphale,  together  with  the  statements 
regarding  JEsculapius,  that  their  Zeus  struck  him  dead  by  a 
thunderbolt.  And  of  the  Dioscuri,  it  will  be  said  that  they 
die  often — 

"  At  one  time  live  on  alternate  days,  and  at  another 
Die,  and  obtain  honour  equally  with  the  gods."  ^ 

How,  then,  can  they  reasonably  imagine  that  one  of  these  is  to 
be  regarded  as  a  god  or  a  hero  ? 

Chapter  xxiii. 

But  we,  in  proving  the  facts  related  of  our  Jesus  from  the 
prophetic  Scriptures,  and  comparing  afterwards  His  history 
with  them,  demonstrate  that  no  dissoluteness  on  his  part  is  re- 
corded. For  even  they  who  conspired  against  Him,  and  who 
sought  false  witnesses  to  aid  them,  did  not  find  even  any 
plausible  grounds  for  advancing  a  false  charge  against  Him, 
so  as  to  accuse  Him  of  licentiousness;  but  His  death  was 
indeed  the  result  of  a  conspiracy,  and  bore  no  resemblance  to 
the  death  of  ^sculapius  by  lightning.  And  what  is  there  that  is 
venerable  in  the  madman  Dionysus,  and  his  female  garments, 
that  he  should  be  worshipped  as  a  god?  And  if  they  who 
would  defend  such  bein2;s  betake  themselves  to  allegorical 
interpretations,  we  must  examine  each  individual  instance,  and 
ascertain  whether  it  is  well  founded,^  and  also  in  each  particular 
case,  whether  those  beings  can  have  a  real  existence,  and  are 
deserving  of  respect  and  worship  who  were  torn  by  the  Titans, 
and  cast  down  from  their  heavenly  throne.  Whereas  our 
Jesus,  who  appeared  to  the  members  of  His  own  troop  ^ — for  I 
will  take  the  word  that  Celsus  employs — did  really  appear,  and 
Celsus  makes  a  false  accusation  against  the  gospel  in  saying 
that  what  appeared  was  a  shadow.  And  let  the  statements  of 
their  histories  and  that  of  Jesus  be  carefully  compared  together. 
Will  Celsus  have  the  former  to  be  true,  but  the  latter,  although 
recorded  by  eye-witnesses  who  showed  by  their  acts  that  they 

1  Cf.  Horn.  Odijss.  si.  303  and  304. 
^  Stctauralc. 


104  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iii. 

clearly  understood  the  nature  of  what  they  had  seen,  and  who 
manifested  their  state  of  mind  by  what  they  cheerfully  under- 
went for  the  sake  of  His  gospel,  to  be  inventions?  Now,  who  is 
there  that,  desiring  to  act  always  in  conformity  with  right  reason, 
would  yield  his  assent  at  random^  to  what  is  related  of  tlie  one, 
but  would  rush  to  the  history  of  Jesus,  and  without  examination 
refuse  to  believe  what  is  recorded  of  Him  ?  ^ 

Chapter  xxiv. 

And  again,  when  it  is  said  of  ^sculapius  that  a  great  multi- 
tude both  of  Greeks  and  barbarians  acknowledge  that  they 
have  frequently  seen,  and  still  see,  no  mere  phantom,  but 
^sculapius  himself,  healing  and  doing  good,  and  foretelling 
the  future ;  Celsus  requires  us  to  believe  this,  and  finds  no 
fault  with  the  believers  in  Jesus,  when  we  express  our  belief 
in  such  stories,  but  when  we  give  our  assent  to  the  disciples, 
and  eye-witnesses  of  the  miracles  of  Jesus,  who  clearly  mani- 
fest the  honesty  of  their  convictions  (because  we  see  their 
guilelessness,  as  far  as  it  is  possible  to  see  the  conscience  re- 
vealed in  writing),  we  are  called  by  him  a  set  of  "silly"  indi- 
viduals, although  he  cannot  demonstrate  that  an  incalculable  ^ 
number,  as  he  asserts,  of  Greeks  and  barbarians  acknowledge 
the  existence  of  ^Esculapius ;  while  we,  if  we  deem  this  a  matter 
of  importance,  can  clearly  show  a  countless  multitude  of  Greeks 
and  barbarians  who  acknowledge  the  existence  of  Jesus.  And 
some  give  evidence  of  their  having  received  through  this  faith 
a  marvellous  power  by  the  cures  which  they  perform,  invoking 
no  other  name  over  those  who  need  their  help  than  that  of  the 
God  of  all  things,  and  of  Jesus,  along  with  a  mention  of  His 
history.  For  by  these  means  we  too  have  seen  many  persons 
freed  from  grievous  calamities,  and  from  distractions  of  mind,* 
and  madness,  and  countless  other  ills,  which  could  be  cured 
neither  by  men  nor  devils. 

Chapter  xxv. 

Now,  in  order  to  grant  that  there  did  exist  a  healing  spirit 

^  ccTTox.'hYipurtK.cj;. 


tig  OS  Tcc  Tspi  TOVTOV  xvi^iTXdTCo;  opy-uv  wrriaT/iQcci  toi;  '^epi  uvtov. 
diAvir-oy,  *  iy,aru.QiCuv. 


Book  III. J  OPdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  105 

named  iEsculapius,  who  used  to  cure  the  bodies  of  men,  I  would 
say  to  those  who  are  astonished  at  such  an  occurrence,  or  at 
the  prophetic  knowledge  of  Apollo,  that  since  the  cure  of  bodies 
is  a  thing  indifferent,^  and  a  matter  within  the  reach  not  merely 
of  the  good,"  but  also  of  the  bad ;  and  as  the  foreknowledge  of 
the  future  is  also  a  thing  indifferent — for  the  possessor  of  fore- 
knowledge does  not  necessarily  manifest  the  possession  of  virtue 
— you  must  show  that  they  who  practise  healing  or  who  fore- 
tell the  future  are  in  no  respect  wicked,  but  exhibit  a  perfect 
pattern  of  virtue,  and  are  not  far  from  being  regarded  as  gods. 
But  they  will  not  be  able  to  show  that  they  are  virtuous  who 
practise  the  art  of  healing,  or  who  are  gifted  with  foreknowledge, 
seeing  many  who  are  not  fit  to  live  arc  related  to  have  been 
healed ;  and  these,  too,  persons  Avhom,  as  leading  improper  lives, 
no  wise  physician  would  wish  to  heal.  And  in  the  responses 
of  the  Pythian  oracle  also  you  may  find  some  injunctions  which 
ai"e  not  iu  accordance  with  reason,  two  of  which  we  wii>  adduce 
on  the  present  occasion ;  viz.  when  it  gave  commandment  that 
Cleomedes^ — the  boxer,  I  suppose — siiould  be  honoured  with 
divine  honours,  seeing  some  great  importance  or  other  attaching 
to  his  pugilistic  skill,  but  did  not  confer  either  upon  Pythagoras 
or  upon  Socrates  the  honours  v/hich  it  awarded  to  pugilism  ; 
and  also  when  it  called  Archilochus  "  the  servant  of  the 
Muses" — a  man  who  employed  his  poetic  powers  upon  topics 
of  the  most  wicked  and  licentious  nature,  and  whose  public 
character  w^as  dissolute  and  impure — and  entitled  him  "pious,"* 
in  respect  of  his  being  the  servant  of  the  Muses,  who  are  deemed 
to  be  goddesses  !  Noav  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  no  one 
would  assert  that  he  was  a  "pious"  man  who  was  not  adorned 
with  all  moderation  and  virtue,  or  that  a  decorous  ^  man  would 
utter  such  expressions  as  are  contained  in  the  unseemly*'  iambics 
of  Archilochus.  And  if  nothing  that  is  divine  in  itself  is  shown 
to  belong  either  to  the  healing  skill  of  ^sculapius  or  the  pro- 
phetic power  of  Apollo,  how  could  any  one,  even  were  I  to 
grant  that  the  facts  are  as  alleged,  reasonably  worship  them  as 
pure  divinities? — and  especially  when  the  prophetic  spirit  of 
Apollo,  pure  from  any  body  of  earth,  secretly  enters  through 

^  ff-iaov.  2  cioTSiov;.  ^  Cf.  Smith's  Diet,  of  Biograpli.  s.v. 


lOG  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iii, 

the  private  parts  the  person  of  her  who  is  called  the  priestess, 
as  she  is  seated  at  the  mouth  of  the  Pythian  cave  !  ^  "Whereas 
regarding  Jesus  and  His  power  we  have  no  such  notion ;  for 
the  body  which  W'as  born  of  the  Virgin  was  composed  of 
human  material,  and  capable  of  receiving  human  wounds  and 
death. 

Chapter  xxvi. 

Let  us  see  what  Celsus  says  next,  when  he  adduces  from 
history  marvellous  occurrences,  which  in  themselves  seem  to 
be  incredible,  but  which  are  not  discredited  by  him,  so  far  at 
least  as  appears  from  his  words.  And,  in  the  first  place,  re- 
garding Aristeas  of  Proconnesus,  of  whom  he  speaks  as  follows : 
"  Then,  with  respect  to  Aristeas  of  Proconnesus,  who  disap- 
peared from  among  men  in  a  manner  so  indicative  of  divine 
intervention,^  and  who  showed  himself  again  in  so  unmistake- 
able  a  fashion,  and  on  many  subsequent  occasions  visited  many 
parts  of  the  world,  and  announced  marvellous  events,  and  whom 
Apollo  enjoined  the  inhabitants  of  Metapontiura  to  regard 
as  a  god,  no  one  considers  him  to  be  a  god."  This  account 
he  appears  to  have  taken  from  Pindar  and  Herodotus.  It  will 
be  sufficient,  however,  at  present  to  quote  the  statement  of  the 
latter  writer  from  the  fourth  book  of  his  histories,  which  is  to 
the  following  effect ;  "  Of  what  country  Aristeas,  who  made 
these  verses,  was,  has  already  been  mentioned,  and  I  shall  now 
relate  the  account  I  heard  of  him  in  Proconnesus  and  Cyzicus. 
They  say  that  Aristeas,  who  was  inferior  to  none  of  the  citizens 
by  birth,  entering  into  a  fuller's  shop  in  Proconnesus,  died 
suddenly,  and  that  the  fuller,  having  closed  his  workshop,  went 
to  acquaint  the  relatives  of  the  deceased.  When  the  report 
had  spread  through  the  city  that  Aristeas  was  dead,  a  certain 
Cyzicenian,  arriving  from  Artace,  fell  into  a  dispute  with  those 
who  made  the  report,  affirming  that  he  had  met  and  conversed 
with  him  on  his  way  to  Cyzicus,  and  he  vehemently  disputed 

^  (Jri  Oi»  Toi/  llvdiov  arofiiov  vipiKxSi^o/ah'/]  ty  KctKctv fiiv/i  Trpo^'/iZioi 
WiVfAoc  S;«  ruv  •yvvcciKiiav  i/TrstaepxiTdi  to  /huutikou,  6  'AsroAA^jy,  to  Kct^apou 
cItto '/y,'i>ov  GuiiiUTo;.     Bolierellus  conjectures  to  ^«»t/xoi/  tov  '  AttoT^T^uvo;  to 

K»dcip6v. 

-  ovToi  ociiy.oviug. 


Book  III.]  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  107 

the  truth  of  the  report ;  but  the  relations  of  the  deceased  went 
to  the  fuller's  shop,  taking  with  them  what  was  necessary  for 
the  purpose  of  carrying  the  body  away ;  but  when  the  house 
was  opened,  Aristeas  was  not  to  be  seen,  either  dead  or  alive. 
They  say  that  afterwards,  in  the  seventh  year,  he  appeared  in 
Proconnesus,  composed  those  verses  which  by  the  Greeks  are 
now  called  Arimaspian,  and  having  composed  them,  disappeared 
a  second  time.  Such  is  the  story  current  in  these  cities.  But 
these  things  I  know  happened  to  the  Metapontines  in  Italy 
340  years  after  the  second  disappearance  of  Aristeas,  as  I  dis- 
covered by  computation  in  Proconnesus  and  Metapontium. 
The  Metapontines  say  that  Aristeas  himself,  having  appeared 
in  their  country,  exhorted  them  to  erect  an  altar  to  Apollo,  and 
to  place  near  it  a  statue  bearing  the  name  of  Aristeas  the  Pro- 
connesian ;  for  he  said  that  Apollo  had  visited  their  country 
only  of  all  the  Italians,  and  that  he  himself,  who  was  now 
Aristeas,  accompanied  him ;  and  that  when  he  accompanied 
the  god  he  was  a  crow ;  and  after  saying  this  he  vanished. 
And  the  Metapontines  say  they  sent  to  Delphi  to  inquire  of 
the  god  what  the  apparition  of  the  man  meant ;  but  the 
Pythian  bade  them  obey  the  apparition,  and  if  they  obeyed  it 
would  conduce  to  their  benefit.  They  accordingly,  having  re- 
ceived this  answer,  fulfilled  the  injunctions.  And  now,  a  statue 
bearing  the  name  of  Aristeas  is  placed  near  the  image  of 
Apollo,  and  around  it  laurels  are  planted :  the  image  is  placed 
in  the  public  square.     Thus  much  concerning  Aristeas."  -^ 

Chapter  xxvii. 

Now,  in  answer  to  this  account  of  Aristeas,  we  have  to  say, 
that  if  Celsus  had  adduced  it  as  historj^,  without  signifying  his 
own  assent  to  its  truth,  it  is  in  a  different  way  that  we  should 
have  met  his  argument.  But  since  he  asserts  that  he  "disappeared 
through  the  intervention  of  the  divinity,"  and  "  showed  himself 
again  in  an  unmistakeable  manner,"  and  ''  visited  many  parts 
of  the  world,"  and  "  made  marvellous  announcements  ; "  and, 
moreover,  that  there  was  "  an  oracle  of  Apollo,  enjoining  the 
Metapontines  to  treat  Aristeas  as  a  god,"  he  gives  the  accounts 
relating  to  him  as  upon  his  own  authority,  and  with  his  full 
1  Herod,  book  iv.  chap.  14  and  15  (Gary's  transl.). 


103  OFJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  ni. 

assent.  And  [this  being  the  case],  we  ask,  How  is  it  possible 
that,  while  supposing  the  marvels  related  by  the  disciples  of 
Jesus  regarding  their  Master  to  be  wholly  fictitious,  and  find- 
ing fault  with  those  who  believe  them,  you,  O  Celsus,  do  not 
regard  these  stories  of  yours  to  be  either  products  of  jugglery^ 
or  inventions?  And  how,^  while  charging  others  veith  an  irra- 
tional belief  in  the  marvels  recorded  of  Jesus,  can  you  show 
yourself  justified  in  giving  credence  to  such  statements  as  the 
above,  without  producing  some  proof  or  evidence  of  the  alleged 
occurrences  having  taken  place  ?  Or  do  Herodotus  and  Pindar 
appear  to  you  to  speak  the  truth,  wdiile  they  who  have  made  it 
their  concern  to  die  for  the  doctrine  of  Jesus,  and  who  have 
left  to  their  successors  writings  so  remarkable  on  the  truths 
which  they  believed,  entered  upon  a  struggle  for  the  sake 
of  "  fictions "  (as  you  consider  them),  and  "  myths,"  and 
"  juggleries,"  Avhich  entails  a  life  of  danger  and  a  death  of 
violence?  Place  yourself,  then,  as  a  neutral  party,  between 
what  is  related  of  Aristeas  and  what  is  recorded  of  Jesus,  and 
see  whether,  from  the  result,  and  from  the  benefits  which  have 
accrued  to  the  reformation  of  morals,  and  to  the  worship  of 
the  God  who  is  over  all  things,  it  is  not  allowable  to  conclude 
that  we  must  believe  the  events  recorded  of  Jesus  not  to  have 
happened  without  the  divine  intervention,  but  that  this  was 
not  the  case  with  the  story  of  Aristeas  the  Proconnesian. 

Chapter  xxviii. 

For  with  what  purpose  in  view  did  Providence  accomplish 
the  marvels  related  of  Aristeas?  And  to  confer  what  benefit 
upon  the  human  race  did  such  remarkable  events,  as  you  re- 
gard them,  take  place  ?  You  cannot  answer.  But  we,  when 
we  relate  the  events  of  the  history  of  Jesus,  have  no  ordinary 
defence  to  offer  for  their  occurrence  ; — this,  viz.,  that  God 
desired  to  commend  the  doctrine  of  Jesus  as  a  doctrine  which 
was  to  save  mankind,  and  which  was  based,  indeed,  upon  the 
apostles  as  foundations  of  the  rising^  edifice  of  Christianity, 
but  which  increased  in  magnitude  also  in  the  succeeding  ages, 

^  npotriiav. 

2  Guietus  conjectures,  kuI  -^6;,-,  u  huan. 


BooKiii.]  OPJG EN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  109 

in  \Yl;ich  not  a  few  cures  are  wrought  in  the  name  of  Jesus, 
and  certain  other  manifestations  of  no  small  moment  have 
taken  place.  Now  what  sort  of  person  is  Apollo,  who  enjoined 
the  Metapontines  to  treat  Aristeas  as  a  god  ?  And  with  what 
object  does  he  do  this?  And  what  advantage  was  he  pro- 
curing to  the  Metapontines  from  this  divine  worship,  if  they 
were  to  regard  him  as  a  god,  who  a  little  ago  was  a  mortal? 
And  yet  the  recommendations  of  Apollo  (viewed  by  us  as  a 
demon  who  has  obtained  the  honour  of  libation  and  sacrificial 
odours  ^)  regarding  this  Aristeas  appear  to  you  to  be  worthy  of 
consideration ;  while  those  of  the  God  of  all  things,  and  of  His 
holy  angels,  made  known  beforehand  through  the  prophets 
— not  after  the  birth  of  Jesus,  but  before  He  appeared  among 
men — do  not  stir  you  up  to  admiration,  not  merely  of  the 
prophets  who  received  the  Divine  Spirit,  but  of  Him  also  who 
was  the  object  of  their  predictions,  whose  entrance  into  life  was 
so  clearly  predicted  many  years  beforehand  by  numerous  pro- 
phets, that  the  whole  Jewish  people  who  were  hanging  in  ex- 
pectation of  the  coming  of  Him  who  was  looked  for,  did,  after 
the  advent  of  Jesus,  fall  into  a  keen  dispute  with  each  other ; 
and  that  a  great  multitude  of  them  acknowledged  Christ,  and 
believed  Him  to  be  the  object  of  prophecy,  while  others  did 
not  believe  in  Him,  but,  despising  the  meekness  of  those  who, 
'  on  account  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  were  unwilling  to  cause 
even  the  most  trifling  sedition,  dared  to  inflict  on  Jesus  those 
cruelties  which  His  disciples  have  so  truthfully  and  candidly 
recorded,  without  secretly  omitting  from  their  marvellous  his- 
tory of  Him  what  seems  to  the  multitude  to  bring  disgrace 
upon  the  doctrine  of  Christianity.  But  both  Jesus  Himself 
and  His  disciples  desired  that  His  followers  should  believe  not 
merely  in  His  Godhead  and  miracles,  as  if  He  had  not  also 
been  a  partaker  of  human  nature,  and  had  assumed  the  human 
flesh  which  "lusteth  against  the  Spirit;""  but  they  saw  also 
that  the  power  which  had  descended  into  human  nature,  and 
into  the  midst  of  human  miseries,  and  which  had  assumed  a 
human  soul  and  body,  contributed  through  faith,  along  with 

^  ug  oil  KOivav/iaotvros  tJ5  dvdpwTriv/i  <pvasi,  ova   dvu'hci^ouTog  rity  h  cii/SpuTOiS 

CUpKU   i'TZiSvi/.IJVaCiU   KClTci  Tol)    'JTUiVp'.tX.TOg. 


no  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iii. 

its  divine  elements,  to  the  salvation  of  believers,^  when  they  see 
that  from  Him  there  began  the  union  of  the  divine  with  the 
human  nature,  in  order  that  the  human,  by  communion  with 
the  divine,  might  rise  to  be  divine,  not  in  Jesus  alone,  but  in 
all  those  who  not  only  believe,  but^  enter  upon  the  life  which 
Jesus  taught,  and  which  elevates  to  friendship  with  God  and 
communion  with  Him  every  one  who  lives  according  to  the 
precepts  of  Jesus. 

Chapter  xxix. 

According  to  Celsus,  then,  Apollo  wished  the  Metapontines 
to  treat  Aristeas  as  a  god.  But  as  the  Metapontines  con- 
sidered the  evidence  in  favour  of  Aristeas  being  a  man — and 
probably  not  a  virtuous  one — to  be  stronger  than  the  declara- 
tion of  the  oracle  to  the  effect  that  he  was  a  god  or  worthy  of 
divine  honours,  they  for  that  reason  would  not  obey  Apollo, 
and  consequently  no  one  regarded  Aristeas  as  a  god.  But  with 
respect  to  Jesus  we  would  say  that,  as  it  was  of  advantage  to 
the  human  race  to  accept  him  as  the  Son  of  God — God  come 
in  a  human  soul  and  body — and  as  this  did  not  seem  to  be 
advantageous  to  the  gluttonous  appetites  ^  of  the  demons  which 
love  bodies,  and  to  those  who  deem  them  to  be  gods  on  that 
account,  the  demons  that  are  on  earth  (which  are  supposed 
to  be  gods  by  those  who  are  not  instructed  in  the  nature  of 
demons),  and  also  their  worshippers,  were  desirous  to  prevent 
the  spread  of  the  doctrine  of  Jesus ;  for  they  saw  that  the 
libations  and  odours  in  which  they  greedily  delighted  were 
being  swept  away  by  the  prevalence  of  the  instructions  of 
Jesus.  But  the  God  who  sent  Jesus  dissipated  all  the  con- 
spiracies of  the  demons,  and  made  the  gospel  of  Jesus  to 
prevail  throughout  the  whole  world  for  the  conversion  and 
reformation  of  men,  and  caused  churches  to  be  everywhere 
established  in  opposition  to  those  of  superstitious  and  licentious 
and  wicked  men ;  for  such  is  the  character  of  the  multitudes 

^'AXAa  yxp  y.aX  tviu  y.a,ra.f:,a.<sot.v  s't;  ccudpu^rrlvriV  (pvatv  kccI  it;  dudpuTrivx; 
'TTSpiUTaasig  ovvccfiiv,  y.cii  tx.vuy.oc.liovaocv  ■■Iv/^YiU  y.u.\  tjuf^cc  ccvSpojTrivov,  iupuv  iK 
TOW  'TTia-iViadat  (^noe,  ruv  QitoTzpuu  cvfi'laXXoini!//!!/  ilg  aur-fipiccv  roig  'TrtaTivouaiv. 

2  (AiTX.  TOU  'T^iaXiVUV.       OtliCrS  read,  f<.i10i>  TO  TTtOTiVUV. 


Book  III.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  Ill 

who  constitute  the  citizens^  in  the  assemblies  of  the  various 
cities.  Whereas  the  churches  of  God  which  are  instructed  by 
Christ,  when  carefully  contrasted  with  the  assemblies  of  the 
districts  in  which  they  are  situated,  are  as  beacons"  in  the 
world ;  for  who  would  not  admit  that  even  the  inferior  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  and  those  who  in  comparison  with  the 
better  are  less  worthy,  are  nevertheless  more  excellent  than 
many  of  those  who  belong  to  the  assemblies  in  the  different 
districts  ? 

Chapter  xxx. 

For  the  church^  of  God,  e.g.  which  is  at  Athens,  is  a  meek 
and  stable  body,  as  being  one  which  desires  to  please  God,  who 
is  over  all  things ;  whereas  the  assembly^  of  the  Athenians  is 
given  to  sedition,  and  is  not  at  all  to  be  compared  to  the  church 
of  God  in  that  city.  And  you  may  say  the  same  thing  of  the 
church  of  God  at  Corinth,  and  of  the  assembly  of  the  Corin- 
thian people ;  and  also  of  the  church  of  God  at  Alexandria, 
and  of  the  assembly  of  the  people  of  Alexandria.  And  if  he 
wdio  hears  this  be  a  candid  man,  and  one  who  investigates 
things  with  a  desire  to  ascertain  the  truth,  he  Avill  be  filled  with 
admiration  of  Him  who  net  only  conceived  the  design,  but  also 
was  able  to  secure  in  all  places  the  establishment  of  churches 
of  God  alongside  ^  of  the  assemblies  of  the  people  in  each  city. 
In  like  manner,  also,  in  comparing  the  council^  of  the  church 
of  God  with  the  council  in  any  city,  you  would  find  that 
certain  councillors^  of  the  church  are  worthy  to  rule  in  the  city 
of  God,  if  there  be  any  such  city  in  the  whole  world  f  whereas 
the  councillors  in  all  other  places  exhibit  in  their  characters 
no  quality  worthy  of  the  conventional^  superiority  which  they 
appear  to  enjoy  over  their  fellow-citizens.  And  so,  too,  you 
must  compare  the  ruler  of  the  cimrch  in  each  city  with  the 

■'■  roiaXiTot,  yaip  t»  'zuvztx.yj^v  ■:7oA/r£Vo,c4s>«4  Iv  ztxis  iy^y.'Ar,aiut;  tuv  ttoMuu 

ivpQi;  u,'j  Tivi;  fiiv  rr,;  ly.K>.-/ic>iug  jlov7^ivra,l   oci,toi'  daiv,   s'l'  ti;  scttiv  sv  -rZ 
vuvri  -7:67^1;  Toy  0£(/t/,  iu  ix.iivri  nra'Km'JiaSa.i.    Boherellus  conjectures  eilpo/;  ctv 

07/  Ti'Ag  jttsV,  X.T.A. 


112  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iii. 

ruler  of  the  2^6ople  of  the  city,  in  order  to  observe  that  even 
amongst  those  councillors  and  rulers  of  the  church  of  God  who 
come  very  far  short  of  their  duty,  and  who  lead  more  indolent 
lives  than  others  who  are  more  energetic,  it  is  nevertheless 
possible  to  discover  a  general  superiority  in  what  relates  to  the 
progress  of  virtue  over  the  characters  of  the  councillors  and 
rulers  in  the  various  cities/ 

Chapter  xxxr. 

Now  if  these  things  be  so,  why  sliould  it  not  be  consistent 
with  reason  to  hold  with  regard  to  Jesus,  who  was  able  to 
effect  results  so  great,  that  there  dwelt  in  Him  no  ordinary 
divinity  ?  while  this  was  not  the  case  either  with  the  Procon- 
nesian  Aristeas  (although  Apollo  would  have  him  regarded  as 
a  god),  or  with  the  other  individuals  enumerated  by  Celsus 
when  he  says,  "  No  one  regards  Abaris  the  Hyperborean  as  a 
god,  who  was  possessed  of  such  power  as  to  be  borne  along  like 
an  arrow  from  a  bow.'"'^  For  with  what  object  did  the  deity 
who  bestowed  upon  this  Hyperborean  Abaris  the  power  of 
being  carried  along  like  an  arrow,  confer  upon  him  such  a  gift? 
Was  it  that  the  human  race  might  be  benefited  thereby,"*  or 
did  he  himself  obtain  any  advantage  from  the  possession  of 
such  a  power  ? — always  supposing  it  to  be  conceded  that  these 
statements  are  not  wholly  inventions,  but  that  the  thing 
actually  happened  through  the  co-operation  of  some  demon. 
Bi!t  if  it  be  recorded  that  my  Jesus  was  received  up  into 
glory,*  I  perceive  the  divine  arrangement'  in  such  an  act,  viz. 
because  God,  who  brought  this  to  pass,  commends  in  this  way 
the  Teacher  to  those  who  witnessed  it,  in  order  that  as  men  who 
are  contending  not  for  human  doctrine,  but  for  divine  teaching, 

■^  on  xxl  I-ttI  run  alpoopci  cc'^orvyxavof^ivav  fiovMvTuv  Kcti  dpy,6uTau 
S!iyJXr,(rici;  Qeov,  kui  paSv/xorspov  'Trccpoi  rovs  svTQvarspug  fitovvrx;,  ovoss/  ijTTOU 
idTtv  ivpiiu  ug  STrt-^xv  v-^ipoxy}",  Tijv  iu  rf,  stti  rec;  clpsrccs  'zpox.o'Tzfi,  -T^etpd,  t» 
'Jidvt  ruv  lu  rcc7s  TroKvjt  (iov'Ksvruv  kxI  dp^ouruv.  BoliercUus  conjectures 
potdvi^onpuu. 

2  uazi  oiaru  (iiXit  av/xcpipia6cti.  Spencer  and  BoLcreau  would  delete 
(iiMt  as  a  gloss. 

3  Guietus  would  insert  '^  before  hx  t<  u^fMSfi.  This  emendation  is 
adopted  in  the  translation. 

*  Cf.  1  Tim.  iii.  16.  *  ry.v  otKcvocttxy. 


Book  III.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  113 

tlicy  may  devote  themselves  as  far  as  possible  to  the  God  who 
is  over  all,  and  may  do  all  things  in  order  to  please  Him,  as 
those  who  are  to  receive  in  the  divine  judgment  the  reward  of 
the  good  or  evil  which  they  have  wrought  in  this  life. 

Chapter  xxxii. 

But  as  Celsus  next  mentions  the  case  of  the  Clazomenian, 
subjoining  to  the  story  about  him  this  remark,  "  Do  they  not 
report  that  his  soul  frequently  quitted  his  body,  and  flitted 
about  in  an  incorporeal  form  ?  and  yet  men  did  not  regard  him 
as  a  god,"  we  have  to  answer  that  probably  certain  wicked 
demons  contrived  that  such  statements  should  be  committed  to 
writing  (for  I  do  not  believe  that  they  contrived  that  such  a 
thing  should  actually  take  place),  in  order  that  the  predictions 
regarding  Jesus,  and  the  discourses  uttered  by  Him,  migbt 
either  be  evil  spoken  of,  as  inventions  like  these,  or  might 
excite  no  surprise,  as  not  being  more  remarkable  than  other 
occurrences.  But  my  Jesus  said  regarding  His  own  soul  (which 
was  separated  from  the  body,  not  by  virtue  of  any  human 
necessity,  but  by  the  miraculous  power  which  was  given  Him 
also  for  this  purpose)  :  "  No  one  taketh  my  life  from  me,  but 
I  lay  it  down  of  myself.  I  have  power  to  lay  it  down,  and  I 
have  power  to  take  it  again."  ^  For  as  He  had  power  to  lay  it 
down.  He  laid  it  down  when  He  said,  ''  Father,  why  hast  Thou 
forsaken  me  ?  And  when  He  had  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  He 
gave  up  the  ghost,"  ^  anticipating  the  public  executioners  of  the 
crucified,  who  break  the  legs  of  the  victims,  and  who  do  so  in 
order  that  their  punishment  may  not  be  further  prolonged. 
And  He  "  took  His  life,"  when  He  manifested  Himself  to  His 
disciples,  having  in  their  presence  foretold  to  the  unbelieving 
Jews,  "  Destroy  this  temple,  and  in  three  days  I  will  raise  it 
up  again,"  ^  and  "  He  spake  this  of  the  temple  of  His  body  ;"  the 
prophets,  moreover,  having  predicted  such  a  result  in  many 
other  passages  of  their  writings,  and  in  this,  "  My  flesh  also 
shall  rest  in  hope :  for  Thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell, 
neither  wilt  Thou  suffer  thine  holy  One  to  see  corruption."* 

1  Cf.  John  X.  18.  2  Cf.  Matt,  xxvii.  46-50 

3  Cf.  John  ii.  19.  *  Ps.  svi.  9,  10. 

OKIG. — VOL.  II.  H 


114  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  hi. 


Chapter  xxxiii. 

Celsus,  however,  shows  that  he  has  read  a  good  many 
Grecian  histories,  when  he  quotes  further  what  is  told  of  Cleo- 
medes  of  Astypalea,  "  who,"  he  relates,  "  entered  into  an  ark, 
and  although  shut  up  within  it,  was  not  found  therein,  but 
through  some  arrangement  of  the  divinity,  flew  out,  when 
certain  persons  had  cut  open  the  ark  in  order  to  apprehend 
him."  Now  this  story,  if  an  invention,  as  it  appears  to  be, 
cannot  be  compared  with  what  is  related  of  Jesus,  since  in 
the  lives  of  such  men  there  is  found  no  indication  of  their 
possessing  the  divinity  which  is  ascribed  to  them ;  whereas  the 
divinity  of  Jesus  is  established  both  by  the  existence  of  the 
churches  of  the  saved,^  and  by  the  prophecies  uttered  con- 
cerning Him,  and  by  the  cures  wrought  in  His  name,  and  by 
the  wisdom  and  knowledge  which  are  in  Him,  and  the  deeper 

I  truths  which  are  discovered  by  those  who  know  how  to  ascend 
from  a  simple  faith,  and  to  investigate  the  meaning  which  lies 
in  the  divine  Scriptures,  agreeably  to  the  injunctions  of  Jesus, 

'  who  said,  "  Search  the  Scriptures,"  ^  and  to  the  wish  of  Paul, 
who  taught  that  "we  ought  to  know  how  to  answer  every 
man  ; "  ^  nay,  also  of  him  who  said,  "  Be  ready  always  to  give 
an  answer  to  every  man  that  asketh  of  you  a  reason  of  the 
faith  *  that  is  in  you."  ^  If  he  wishes  to  have  it  conceded,  how- 
ever, that  it  is  not  a  fiction,  let  him  show  with  what  object  this 
supernatural  power  made  him,  through  some  arrangement  of 
the  divinity,  flee  from  the  ark.  For  if  he  will  adduce  any 
reason  worthy  of  consideration,  and  point  out  any  purpose 
worthy  of  God  in  conferring  such  a  power  on  Cleomedes,  we 
will  decide  on  the  answer  which  we  ought  to  give ;  but  if  he 
fail  to  say  anything  convincing  on  the  point,  clearly  because  no 
reason  can  be  discovered,  then  we  shall  either  speak  slightingly 
of  the  story  to  those  who  have  not  accepted  it,  and  charge  it 
with  being  false,  or  we  shall  say  that  some  demoniac  power, 
casting  a  glamour  over  the  eyes,  produced,  in  the  case  of  the 
Astypalean,  a  result  like  that  which  is  produced  by  the  per- 

^  ruv  u(pi'hovfiivav.  ^  Jolin  v.  39. 

3  Cf.   Col.  iv.   6.  *  TricTiUi. 

»  1  Pet.  iii.  15. 


Book  III.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  115 

formers  of  juggling  tricks/  while  Celsus  thinks  that  witli 
respect  to  him  he  has  spoken  like  an  oracle,  when  he  said 
that  "  by  some  divine  arrangement  he  jQew  away  from  the 
ark." 

Chapter  xxxiv. 

I  am,  however,  of  opinion  that  these  individuals  are  the  only 
instances  with  which  Celsus  was  acquainted.  And  yet,  that  he 
might  appear  voluntarily  to  pass  by  other  similar  cases,  he  says, 
*'  And  one  might  name  many  others  of  the  same  kind."  Let 
it  be  granted,  then,  that  many  such  persons  have  existed  who 
conferred  no  benefit  upon  the  human  race :  what  would  each 
one  of  their  acts  be  found  to  amount  to  in  comparison  with  the 
work  of  Jesus,  and  the  miracles  related  of  Him,  of  which  we 
have  already  spoken  at  considerable  length?  He  next  imagines 
that,  "  in  worshipping  him  who,"  as  he  says,  "  was  taken 
prisoner  and  put  to  death,  we  are  acting  like  the  Getse  who 
worship  Zamolsis,  and  the  Cillcians  who  ^Yorship  !Mopsus,  and 
the  Acarnanians  who  pay  divine  honours  to  Amphilochus,  and 
like  the  Thebans  who  do  the  same  to  Amphiaraus,  and  the 
Lebadians  to  Trophonius."  Now  in  these  instances  we  shall 
prove  that  he  has  compared  us  to  the  foregoing  without  good 
grounds.  For  these  different  tribes  erected  temples  and  statues 
to  those  individuals  above  enumerated,  whereas  we  have  re- 
frained from  offering  to  the  divinity  honour  by  any  such  means 
(seeing  they  are  adapted  rather  to  demons,  which  are  somehow 
fixed  in  a  certain  place  which  they  prefer  to  any  other,  or 
which  take  up  their  dwelling,  as  it  were,  after  being  removed 
[from  one  place  to  another]  by  certain  rites  and  incantations), 
and  are  lost  in  reverential  wonder  at  Jesus,  who  has  recalled 
our  minds  from  all  sensible  things,  as  being  not  only  cor- 
ruptible, but  destined  to  corruption,  and  elevated  them  to 
honour  the  God  who  is  over  all  with  prayers  and  a  righteous 
life,  which  we  offer  to  Him  as  being  intermediate  between  the 

iaropi'x  ug  oiix,  d'huidu'  'jj  oxifiovtov  rt  (P'/jao/nsy  7roipct~X'/itTtoi/  roig  iTri^sixvvfiivoi; 
•yor,C7iu  x,7rce,-y]  6^6xK^u.u<j  ■yn-of/iyAveti  x.ctl  ■ttsdI  tov  ' AarvTTU.'ku.isx.  Spencer 
in  his  edition  includes  (/.-/i  in  brackets,  and  renders,  "  Aut  eos  incusabimus, 
qui  istam  virtutem  admiserint." 


116  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iir. 

nature  of  the  uncreated  and  that  of  all  created  things,^  and 
who  bestows  upon  us  the  benefits  which  come  from  the  Father, 
and  who  as  High  Priest  conveys  our  prayers  to  the  supreme 
God. 

Chapter  xxxv. 

But  I  should  like,  in  answer  to  him  who  for  some  unknown 
reason  advances  such  statements  as  the  above,  to  make  in  a 
conversational  way  ^  some  such  remarks  as  the  following,  which 
seem  not  inappropriate  to  him.  Are  then  those  persons  whom 
you  have  mentioned  nonentities,  and  is  there  no  power  in 
Lebadea  connected  with  Troplionius,  nor  in  Thebes  with  the 
temple  of  Amphiaraus,  nor  in  Acarnania  with  Amphilochus, 
nor  in  Cilicia  with  Mopsus?  Or  is  there  in  such  persons  some 
being,  either  a  demon,  or  a  hero,  or  even  a  god,  working  works 
which  are  beyond  the  reach  of  man  ?  For  if  he  answ^er  that 
there  is  nothing  either  demoniacal  or  divine  about  these  indi- 
viduals more  than  others,  then  let  him  at  once  make  known  his 
own  opinion,  as  being  that  of  an  Epicurean,  and  of  one  who 
does  not  hold  the  same  views  with  the  Greeks,  and  who  neither 
recognises  demons  nor  worships  gods  as  do  the  Greeks;  and 
let  it  be  shown  that  it  was  to  no  purpose  that  he  adduced  the 
instances  previously  enumerated  (as  if  he  believed  them  to  be 
true),  together  with  those  which  he  adds  in  the  following  pages. 
But  if  he  will  assert  that  the  persons  spoken  of  are  either 
demons,  or  heroes,  or  even  gods,  let  him  notice  that  he  will 
establish  by  what  he  has  admitted  a  result  which  he  does  not 
desire,  viz.  that  Jesus  also  was  some  such  being;  for  which 
reason,  too,  he  was  able  to  demonstrate  to  not  a  few  that  He 
had  come  down  from  God  to  visit  the  human  race.  And  if  he 
once  admit  this,  see  ^Yllether  he  will  not  be  forced  to  confess 
that  He  is  mightier  than  those  individuals  with  whom  he  classed 
Him,  seeing  none  of  the  latter  forbids  the  offerinir  of  honour 

^  ol'j  TTpocfxyofiii)  eii/ro),  ug  5/«  ^£r«|y  Si/ro;  t'^j  rov  dyiv/irov  )cut  r^g  ruv 
yiunruv  -ttuvtuu  (pvaiug.  "  Hoeschel  (itemquc  Spencerus  ad  marg.)  sus- 
picabatur  Icgeudum :  ug  Sjj  f^ercc^v  ourog.  Male.  Nihil  mutari  necesse  est. 
Agitur  quippe  de  precibus,  quas  offerimus  Deo  '  per  eum,  qui  vcluti  medius 
est  inter  iucreatam  uaturam  et  creatam.' " — ROiEUS. 

^  ecOQ'h£(7-/,y:(7Xi. 


Book  III.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  117 

to  the  others ;  while  He,  having  confidence  in  Himself,  because 
He  is  more  powerful  than  all  those  others,  forbids  them  to 
be  received  as  divine  ^  because  they  are  wicked  demons,  who 
have  taken  possession  of  places  on  earth,  through  inability  to 
rise  to  the  purer  and  diviner  region,  whither  the  grossnesses  of 
earth  and  its  countless  evils  cannot  reach. 

Chapter  xxxvi. 

But  as  he  next  introduces  the  case  of  the  favourite  of  Adrian 
(I  refer  to  the  accounts  regarding  the  youtli  Antinous,  and  the 
honours  paid  him  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  Antinous  in 
Egypt),  and  imagines  that  the  honour  paid  to  him  falls  little 
short  of  that  which  we  render  to  Jesus,  let  us  show  in  what  a 
spirit  of  hostility  this  statement  is  made.  For  what  is  there  in 
common  between  a  life  lived  among  the  favourites  of  Adrian, 
by  one  who  did  not  abstain  even  from  unnatural  lusts,  and  that 
of  the  venerable  Jesus,  against  whom  even  they  who  brought 
countless  other  charges,  and  who  told  so  many  falsehoods,  were 
not  able  to  allege  that  He  manifested,  even  in  the  slightest 
degree,  any  tendency  to  what  was  licentious  ?  ^  ^^y?  further, 
if  one  were  to  investigate,  in  a  spirit  of  truth  and  impartiality, 
the  stories  relating  to  Antinous,  he  would  find  that  it  was  due 
to  the  magical  arts  and  rites  of  the  Egyptians  that  there  was 
even  the  appearance  of  his  performing  anything  [marvellous] 
in  the  city  which  bears  his  name,  and  that  too  only  after  his 
decease, — an  effect  which  is  said  to  have  been  produced  in  other 
temples  by  the  Egyptians,  and  those  who  are  skilled  in  the  arts 
which  they  practise.  For  they  set  up  in  certain  places  demons 
claiming  prophetic  or  healing  power,  and  which  frequently 
torture  those  who  seem  to  have  committed  any  mistake  about 
ordinary  kinds  of  food,  or  about  touching  the  dead  body  of  a 
man,  that  they  may  have  the  appearance  of  alarming  the  un- 
educated multitude.  Of  this  nature  is  the  being  that  is  con- 
sidered to  be  a  god  in  Antinoopolis  in  Egypt,  whose  [reputed] 
virtues  are  the  lying  inventions  of  some  who  live  by  the  gain 
derived  therefrom ;  ^  while  others,  deceived  by  the  demon  placed 

^  zdc;  rouruv  dz-ooo^x;. 

u;  Kdu  TO  rvx,o!i  otxo'ha.ciotg  kciv  s'37   c'Kt'/ov  ysvaufiiuov ; 
*  oO  scpsrec;  0/  fisv  rtvi;  kv ^evrixonsoov  ^avng  xxTOfJ/ivoovrai. 


118  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iii. 

there,  and  others  again  convicted  by  a  weak  conscience,  actually 
think  that  they  are  paying  a  divine  penalty  inflicted  by  An- 
tinous.  Of  such  a  nature  also  are  the  mysteries  which  they 
perform,  and  the  seeming  predictions  which  they  utter.  Far 
different  from  such  are  those  of  Jesus.  For  it  was  no  company 
of  sorcerers,  paying  court  to  a  king  or  ruler  at  his  bidding, 
who  seemed  to  have  made  him  a  god ;  but  the  Architect  of  the 
universe  Himself,  in  keeping  with  the  marvellously  persuasive 
power  of  His  words,^  commended  Him  as  worthy  of  honour, 
not  only  to  those  men  who  were  well  disposed,  but  to  demons 
also,  and  other  unseen  powers,  which  even  at  the  present  time 
show  that  they  either  fear  the  name  of  Jesus  as  that  of  a  being  of 
superior  power,  or  reverentially  accept  Him  as  their  legal  ruler .^ 
For  if  the  commendation  had  not  been  given  Him  by  God,  the 
demons  would  not  have  withdrawn  from  those  whom  they  had 
assailed,  in  obedience  to  the  mere  mention  of  His  name. 

Chapter  xxxvii. 

The  Egyptians,  then,  having  been  taught  to  worship  An- 
tinous,  will,  if  you  compare  him  with  Apollo  or  Zeus,  endure 
such  a  comparison,  Antinous  being  magnified  in  their  estima- 
tion through  being  classed  with  these  deities ;  for  Celsus  is 
clearly  convicted  of  falsehood  when  he  says,  "  that  they  will 
not  endure  his  being  compared  with  Apollo  or  Zeus."  Whereas 
Christians  (who  have  learned  that  their  eternal  life  consists  in 
knowing  the  only  true  God,  who  is  over  all,  and  Jesus  Christ, 
whom  He  has  sent ;  and  who  have  learned  also  that  all  the  gods 
of  the  heathen  are  greedy  demons,  which  flit  around  sacrifices 
and  blood,  and  other  sacrificial  accompaniments,^  in  order  to 
deceive  those  who  have  not  taken  refuge  with  the  God  who  is 
over  all,  but  that  the  divine  and  holy  angels  of  God  are  of  a 
different  nature  and  will*  from  all  the  demons  on  earth,  and 
that  they  are  known  to  those  exceedingly  few  persons  who  have 
carefully  and  intelligently  investigated  these  matters)  will  not 
endure  a  comparison  to  be  made  between  them  and  Apollo 
or  Zeus,  or  any  being  worshipped  with  odours  and  blood  and 

■*  uKoXovdu;  TYi  Iv  Tu  'Kiyiiy  npxariug  'jTiarsx.ri  ovuxf^n. 
^  eixo<popx;.  *  -poxipiaiu;. 


Book  hi.]  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  119 

sacrifices ;  some  of  tliem,  so  acting  from  their  extreme  simpli- 
city, not  being  able  to  give  a  reason  for  their  conduct,  but 
sincerely  observing  the  precepts  which  they  have  received ; 
others,  again,  for  reasons  not  to  be  lightly  regarded,  nay,  even 
of  a  profound  description,  and  (as  a  Greek  would  say)  drawn 
from  the  inner  nature  of  things  ;^  and  amongst  the  latter  of 
these  God  is  a  frequent  subject  of  conversation,  and  those  who 
are  honoured  by  God,  through  His  only-begotten  Word,  with 
participation  in  His  divinity,  and  therefore  also  in  His  name. 
They  speak  much,  too,  both  regarding  the  angels  of  God  and 
those  who  are  opposed  to  the  truth,  but  have  been  deceived ; 
and  who,  in  consequence  of  being  deceived,  call  them  gods  or 
angels  of  God,  or  good  demons,  or  heroes  who  have  become  such 
by  the  transference  into  them  of  a  good  human  soul."  And 
such  Christians  will  also  show,  that  as  in  philosophy  there  are 
many  who  appear  to  be  in  possession  of  the  truth,  who  have  yet 
either  deceived  themselves  by  plausible  arguments,  or  by  rashly 
assenting  to  what  was  brought  forward  and  discovered  by 
others ;  so  also,  among  those  souls  which  exist  apart  from 
bodies,  both  angels  and  demons,  there  are  some  which  have  been 
induced  by  plausible  reasons  to  declare  themselves  gods.  And 
because  it  was  impossible  that  the  reasons  of  such  things  could 
be  discovered  by  men  with  perfect  exactness,  it  was  deemed 
safe  that  no  mortal  should  entrust  himself  to  any  being  as  to 
God,  with  the  exception  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  is,  as  it  were,  the 
Euler  over  all  things,  and  who  both  beheld  these  weighty 
secrets,  and  made  them  known  to  a  few. 

Chapter  xxxviii. 

The  belief,  then,  in  Antinous,  or  any  other  such  person, 
whether  among  the  Egyptians  or  the  Greeks,  is,  so  to  speak, 
unfortunate  ;  while  the  belief  in  Jesus  would  seem  to  be  either 
a  fortunate  one,  or  the  result  of  thorough  investigation,  having 
the  appearance  of  the  former  to  the  multitude,  and  of  the 
latter  to  exceedingly  few.^  And  when  I  speak  of  a  certain 
belief  being,  as  the  multitude  would  call  it,  unfortunate,  I  in 

•^  iaaTiotKoju  xul  i'770':rrix,ui/. 


120  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iii. 

such  a  case  refer  the  cause  to  God,  who  knows  the  reasons  of 
the  various  fates  allotted  to  each  one  who  enters  human  life. 
The  Greeks,  moreover,  will  admit  that  even  amongst  those  who 
are  considered  to  be  most  largely  endowed  with  wisdom,  good 
fortune  has  had  much  to  do,  as  in  the  choice  of  teachers  of  one 
kind  rather  than  another,  and  in  meeting  with  a  better  class 
of  instructors  (there  being  teachers  who  taught  the  most 
opposite  doctrines),  and  in  being  brought  up  in  better  circum- 
stances ;  for  the  bringing  up  of  many  has  been  amid  surround- 
ings of  such  a  kind,  that  they  were  prevented  from  ever 
receiving  any  idea  of  better  things,  but  constantly  passed  their 
life,  from  their  earliest  youth,  either  as  the  favourites  of  licen- 
tious men  or  of  tyrants,  or  in  some  other  wretched  condition 
which  forbade  the  soul  to  look  upwards.  And  the  causes  of 
these  varied  fortunes,  according  to  all  probability,  are  to  be 
found  in  the  reasons  of  providence,  though  it  is  not  easy  for 
men  to  ascertain  these  ;  but  I  have  said  what  I  have  done  by 
way  of  digression  from  the  main  body  of  my  subject,  on 
account  of  the  proverb,  that  "such  is  the  power  of  faith, 
because  it  seizes  that  which  first  presents  itself."^  For  it  was 
necessary,  owing  to  the  different  methods  of  education,  to  speak 
of  the  differences  of  belief  among  men,  some  of  whom  are  more, 
others  less  fortunate  in  their  belief ;  and  from  this  to  proceed 
to  show  that  what  is  termed  good  or  bad  fortune  would  appear 
to  contribute,  even  in  the  case  of  the  most  talented,  to  their 
appearing  to  be  more  fully  endowed  with  reason,  and  to  give 
their  assent  on  grounds  of  reason  to  the  majority  of  human 
opinions.     But  enough  on  these  points. 

Chapter  xxxix. 

We  must  notice  tlie  remarks  which  Celsus  next  makes,  when 
he  says  to  us,  that  "  faith,  having  taken  possession  of  our 
minds,  makes  us  yield  the  assent  which  we  give  to  the  doctrine 
of  Jesus  ;"  for  of  a  truth  it  is  faith  wliich  does  produce  such  an 
assent.  Observe,  however,  whether  that  faith  does  not  of  itself 
exhibit  what  is  worthy  of  praise,  seeing  we  entrust  ourselves  to 

l^riTU.di/.iUYi,  "^OKOvffX  fASu  svTVX'<?  "^Bipcc  ro7;  ttoXXo/;,  ili^xaavtafiiuu;  Oi  t^'/iTXa- 
fiivy)  'TTccpd  'Tsrd.vv  i'KiyuTU.rotg. 


Book  III.]  ORIG EN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  121 

the  God  who  is  over  all,  acknowledging  oux'  gratitude  to  Him 
who  has  led  us  to  such  a  faith,  and  declaring  that  He  could 
not  have  attempted  or  accomplished  such  a  result  without  the 
divine  assistance.  And  we  have  confidence  also  in  the  inten- 
tions of  the  writers  of  the  Gospels,  observing  their  piety  and 
conscientiousness,  manifested  in  their  writings,  which  contain 
nothing  that  is  spurious,  or  deceptive/  or  false,  or  cunning ; 
for  it  is  evident  to  us  that  souls  unacquainted  with  those 
artifices  which  are  taught  by  the  cunning  sophistry  of  the 
Greeks  (which  is  characterized  by  great  plausibility  and  acute- 
ness),  and  by  the  kind  of  rhetoric  in  vogue  in  the  courts  of 
justice,  would  not  have  been  able  thus  to  invent  occurrences 
which  are  fitted  of  themselves  to  conduct  to  faith,  and  to  a  life 
in  keeping  with  faith.  And  I  am  of  opinion  that  it  was  on 
this  account  that  Jesus  wished  to  employ  such  persons  as 
teachers  of  His  doctrines,  viz.  that  there  might  be  no  ground 
for  any  suspicion  of  plausible  sophistry,  but  that  it  might 
clearly  appear  to  all  who  were  capable  of  understanding,  that 
the  guileless  purpose  of  the  writers  being,  so  to  speak,  marked 
with  great  simplicity,  was  deemed  worthy  of  being  accompanied 
by  a  diviner  power,  which  accomplished  far  more  than  it  seemed 
possible  could  be  accomplished  by  a  periphrasis  of  words,  and  a 
weaving  of  sentences,  accompanied  by  all  the  distinctions  of 
Grecian  art. 

Chapter  xl. 

But  observe  whether  the  principles  of  our  faith,  harmonizing 
with  the  general  ideas  implanted  in  our  minds  at  birth,  do  not 
produce  a  change  upon  those  who  listen  candidly  to  its  state- 
ments ;  for  although  a  perverted  view  of  things,  with  the  aid 
of  much  instruction  to  the  same  effect,  has  been  able  to  implant 
in  the  minds  of  the  multitude  the  belief  that  images  are  gods, 
and  that  things  made  of  gold,  and  silver,  and  ivory,  and  stone 
are  deserving  of  worship,  yet  common  sense"  forbids  the  sup- 
position that  God  is  at  all  a  piece  of  corruptible  matter,  or  is 
honoured  when  made  to  assume  by  men  a  form  embodied  in 
dead  matter,  fashioned  according  to  some  image  or  symbol  of 
His  appearance.     And  therefore  we  say  at  once  of  images  that 

^  KV(iiVTtX.6u.  2  '/)  Koi^-Ji  hi/otx. 


122  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  m. 

they  are  not  gods,  and  of  such  creations  (of  art)  that  they  are 
not  to  be  compared  with  the  Creator,  but  are  small  in  contrast 
with  the  God  who  is  over  all,  and  who  created,  and  upholds, 
and  governs  the  universe.  And  the  rational  soul  recognising, 
as  it  were,  its  relationship  [to  the  divine],  at  once  rejects  what 
it  for  a  time  supposed  to  be  gods,  and  resumes  its  natural  love^ 
for  its  Creator ;  and  because  of  its  affection  towards  Him, 
receives  Him  also  who  first  presented  these  truths  to  all 
nations  through  the  disciples  whom  He  had  appointed,  and 
whom  He  sent  forth,  furnished  with  divine  power  and  authority, 
to  proclaim  the  doctrine  regarding  God  and  His  kingdom. 

Chapter  xli. 

But  since  he  has  charged  us,  I  know  not  how  often  already, 
"  with  regarding  this  Jesus,  who  was  but  a  mortal  body,  as  a 
God,  and  with  supposing  that  we  act  piously  in  so  doing,"  it  is 
superfluous  to  say  any  more  in  answer  to  this,  as  a  great  deal 
has  been  said  in  the  preceding  pages.  And  yet  let  those  who 
make  this  charge  understand  that  He  whom  we  regard  and 
believe  to  have  been  from  the  beginning  God,  and  the  Son  of 
God,  is  the  very  Logos,  and  the  very  Wisdom,  and  the  very 
Truth ;   and  w  ith  respect  to  His  mortal  body,  and  the  human   -^ 

^oul  wdiich  it  contained,  we  assert  that  not  by  their  communion 
merely  with  Him,  but  by  their  unity  and  intermixture,"  they 
received  the  highest  powers,  and  after  participating  in  His 
divinity,  were  changed  into  God.  And  if  any  one  should  feel 
a  difficulty  at  our  saying  this  regarding  His  body,  let  him 
attend  to  wdiat  is  said  by  the  Greeks  regarding  matter,  which, 
properly  speaking,  being  without  qualities,  receives  such  as  the 

;  Creator  desires  to  invest  it  with,  and  which  frequently  divests 
itself  of  those  which  it  formerly  possessed,  and  assumes  others 
of  a  different  and  higher  kind.  And  if  these  opinions  be  cor- 
rect, what  is  there  wonderful  in  this,  that  the  mortal  quality  of 
the  body  of  Jesus,  if  the  providence  of  God  has  so  willed  it, 
should  have  been  changed  into  one  that  was  ethereal  and  divine  ? 

Chapter  xlii. 

Celsus,  then,  does  not  speak  as  a  good  reasoner,^  when  he 


Book  III.]  OPdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  123 

compares  the  mortal  flesh  of  Jesus  to  gold,  and  silver,  and  stone, 
asserting  that  the  former  is  more  liable  to  corruption  than  the 
latter.  For,  to  speak  correctly,  that  which  is  incorruptible  is 
not  more  free  from  corruption  than  another  thing  which  is 
incorruptible,  nor  that  which  is  corruptible  more  liable  to  cor- 
ruption than  another  corruptible  thing.  But,  admitting  that 
there  oxfi  degrees  of  corruptibility,  we  can  say  in  answer,  that 
if  it  is  possible  for  the  matter  which  miderlies  all  qualities  to 
exchange  some  of  them,  how  should  it  be  impossible  for  the 
flesh  of  Jesus  also  to  exchange  qualities,  and  to  become  such  as 
it  was  proper  for  a  body  to  be  which  had  its  abode  in  the  ether 
and  the  regions  above  it,  and  possessing  no  longer  the  infirmi- 
ties belonging  to  the  flesh,  and  those  properties  which  Celsus 
terms  "impurities,"  and  in  so  terming  them,  speaks  milike  a 
philosopher  ?  For  that  which  is  properly  impure,  is  so  because 
of  its  wickedness.  Now  the  nature  of  body  is  not  impure ;  for 
in  so  far  as  it  is  bodily  nature,  it  does  not  possess  vice,  which  is 
the  generative  principle  of  impurity.  But,  as  he  had  a  sus- 
picion of  the  answer  which  we  would  return,  he  says  with  respect 
to  the  change  of  the  body  of  Jesus,  "  Well,  after  he  has  laid 
aside  these  qualities,  he  will  be  a  God : "  [and  if  so],  why  not 
rather  JEsculapius,  and  Dionysus,  and  Hercules'?  To  which 
we  reply,  "What  great  deed  has  ^sculapius,  or  Dionysus,  or 
Hercules  wrought  ?  "  And  what  individuals  will  they  be  able 
to  point  out  as  having  been  improved  in  character,  and  made 
better  by  their  words  and  lives,  so  that  they  may  make  good 
their  claim  to  be  gods?  For  let  us  peruse  the  many  narratives 
regarding  them,  and  see  whether  they  were  free  from  licen- 
tiousness, or  injustice,  or  folly,  or  cowardice.  And  if  nothing 
of  that  kind  be  found  in  them,  the  argument  of  Celsus  might 
have  force,  which  places  the  forenamed  individuals  upon  an 
equality  with  Jesus.  But  if  it  is  certain  that,  although  some 
things  are  reported  of  them  as  reputable,  they  are  recorded, 
nevertheless,  to  have  done  innumerable  things  which  are  con- 
trary to  right  reason,  how  could  you  any  longer  say,  with  any 
show  of  reason,  that  these  men,  on  putting  aside  their  mortal 
body,  became  gods  rather  than  Jesus  ? 


124  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  hi. 

Chapter  xltii. 

He  next  says  of  us,  that  "  we  ridicule  those  who  worsliip 
Jupiter,  because  his  tomb  is  pointed  out  in  the  island  of  Crete ; 
and  yet  we  worship  him  who  rose  from  the  tomb/  although 
ignorant  of  the  grounds^  on  which  the  Cretans  observe  such  a 
custom."  Observe  now  that  he  thus  undertakes  the  defence  of 
the  Cretans,  and  of  Jupiter,  and  of  his  tomb,  alluding  obscurely 
to  the  allegorical  notions,  in  conformity  with  which  the  myth 
regarding  Jupiter  is  said  to  have  been  invented ;  while  he 
assails  us  who  acknowledge  that  our  Jesus  has  been  buried, 
indeed,  but  who  maintain  that  He  has  also  been  raised  from 
the  tomb, — a  statement  which  the  Cretans  have  not  yet  made 
regarding  Jupiter.  But  since  he  appears  to  admit  that  the 
tomb  of  Jupiter  is  in  Crete,  when  he  says  that  "  we  are  igno- 
rant of  the  grounds  on  which  the  Cretans  observe  such  a  cus- 
tom," we  reply  that  Callimachus  the  Cyrenian,  who  had  read 
innumerable  poetic  compositions,  and  nearly  the  whole  of  Greek 
history,  was  not  acquainted  with  any  allegorical  meaning  which 
was  contained  in  the  stories  about  Jupiter  and  his  tomb  ;  and 
accordingly  he  accuses  the  Cretans  in  his  hymn  addressed  to 
Jupiter,  in  the  words  :  ^ 

' '  The  Cretans  are  always  liars  :  for  thy  tomb,  0  king, 
The  Cretans  have  reared ;  and  yet  thou  didst  not  die, 
For  thou  ever  livest." 

Now  he  who  said,  "  Thou  didst  not  die,  for  thou  ever  livest," 
in  denying  that  Jupiter's  tomb  was  in  Crete,  records  never- 
theless that  in  Jupiter  there  was  the  beginning  of  death.**  But 
birth  upon  earth  is  the  beginning  of  death.     And  his  words 

run: 

"  And  Rhea  bore  thee  among  the  Parrhasians  ;  " — 

whereas  he  ought  to  have  seen,  after  denying  that  the  birth  of 
Jupiter  took  place  in  Crete  because  of  his  tomb,  that  it  was 
quite  congruous  with  his  birth  in  Arcadia  that  he  who  was  born 
should  also  die.     And  the  following  is  the  manner  in  which 

^  Tov  d.r.0  rov  ru(pov. 

^  ciiiK  itOong  tu;  kxI  x.x66. 

3  Cf.  Callimach.  Hymn  i.     Cf.  also  Tit.  i.  12. 


Book  m.}  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  125 

Callimachus  speaks  of  those  things  :  "  O  Jupiter,  some  say 
that  thou  wert  born  on  the  mountains  of  Ida,  others  in  Arcadia. 
Which  of  them,  O  father,  have  lied?  The  Cretans  are  always 
hars,"  etc.  Now  it  is  Celsus  who  made  us  discuss  these  topics, 
by  the  unfair  manner  in  which  he  deals  with  Jesus,  in  giving 
his  assent  to  what  is  related  about  His  death  and  burial,  but 
ren;ardinf]j  as  an  invention  His  resurrection  from  the  dead, 
although  this  was  not  only  foretold  by  innumerable  prophets, 
but  many  proofs  also  were  given  of  His  having  appeared  after 
death. 

Chapter  xliv. 

After  these  points  Celsus  quotes  some  objections  against  the 
doctrine  of  Jesus,  made  by  a  very  few  individuals  who  are 
considered  Christians,  not  of  the  more  intelligent,  as  he  sup- 
poses, but  of  the  more  ignorant  class,  and  asserts  that  "  the 
following  are  the  rules  laid  down  by  them.  Let  no  one  come 
to  us  who  has  been  instructed,  or  who  is  wise  or  prudent  (for 
such  qualifications  are  deemed  evil  by  us)  ;  but  if  there  be  any 
ignorant,  or  unintelligent,  or  uninstructed,  or  foolish  persons, 
let  them  come  with  confidence.  By  which  words,  acknowledging 
that  such  individuals  are  worthy  of  their  God,  they  manifestly 
show  that  they  desire  and  are  able  to  gain  over  only  the  silly, 
and  the  mean,  and  the  stupid,  with  women  and  children."  In 
reply  to  which,  we  say  that,  as  if,  while  Jesus  teaches  con- 
tinence, and  says,  "Whosoever  looketh  upon  a  woman  to  lust 
after  her,  hath  already  committed  adultery  with  her  in  his 
heart,"  one  were  to  behold  a  few  of  those  who  are  deemed  to 
be  Christians  living  licentiously,  he  would  most  justly  blame 
them  for  living  contrary  to  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  but  would 
act  most  unreasonably  if  he  were  to  charge  the  gospel  with 
their  censurable  conduct ;  so,  if  he  found  nevertheless  that  the 
doctrine  of  the  Christians  invites  men  to  wisdom,  the  blame 
then  must  remain  with  those  who  rest  in  their  own  ignorance, 
and  who  utter,  not  what  Celsus  relates  (for  although  some  of 
them  are  simple  and  ignorant,  they  do  not  speak  so  shamelessly 
as  he  alleges),  but  other  things  of  much  less  serious  import, 
which,  however,  serve  to  turn  aside  men  from  the  practice  of 
wisdom. 


126  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  lu. 

Chapter  xlv. 

But  that  the  object  of  Christianity  ^  is  that  we  should  be- 
come wise,  can  be  proved  not  only  from  the  ancient  Jewish 
writings,  which  loe  also  use,  but  especially  from  those  which 
were  composed  after  the  time  of  Jesus,  and  which  are  believed 
among  the  churches  to  be  divine.  Now,  in  the  fiftieth  Psalm, 
David  is  described  as  saying  in  his  prayer  to  God  these  words : 
"  The  unseen  and  secret  things  of  Thy  wisdom  Thou  hast 
manifested  to  me."^  Solomon,  too,  because  he  asked  for 
wisdom,  received  it ;  and  if  any  one  were  to  peruse  the  Psalms, 
he  would  find  the  book  filled  with  many  maxims  of  wisdom ; 
and  the  evidences  of  his  wisdom  may  be  seen  in  his  treatises, 
which  contain  a  great  amount  of  wisdom  expressed  in  few 
words,  and  in  which  you  will  find  many  laudations  of  wisdom, 
and  encouragements  towards  obtaining  it.  So  wise,  moreover, 
was  Solomon,  that  "  the  queen  of  Sheba,  having  heard  his 
name,  and  the  name  of  the  Lord,  came  to  try  him  with  difficult 
questions,  and  spake  to  him  all  things,  whatsoever  were  in  her 
heart ;  and  Solomon  answered  her  all  her  questions.  There 
was  no  question  omitted  by  the  king  which  he  did  not  answer 
her.  And  the  queen  of  Sheba  saw  all  the  wisdom  of  Solomon, 
and  the  possessions  w'hich  he  had,^  and  there  was  no  more 
spirit  in  her.*  And  she  said  to  the  king.  The  report  is 
true  which  I  heard  in  mine  own  land  regarding  thee  and  thy 
wisdom ;  and  I  believed  not  them  Avho  told  me,  until  I  had 
come,  and  mine  eyes  have  seen  it.  And,  lo,  they  did  not  tell 
me  the  half.  Thou  hast  added  wisdom  and  possessions  above 
all  the  report  which  I  heard." '^  It  is  recorded  also  of  him,  that 
"  God  gave  Solomon  wisdom  and  understanding  exceeding 
much,  and  largeness  of  heart,  even  as  the  sand  that  is  on  the 
sea-shore.  And  the  wisdom  that  was  in  Solomon  greatly 
excelled  the  wisdom  of  all  the  ancients,  and  of  all  the  wise  men 
of  Egypt ;  and  he  was  wiser  than  all  men,  even  than  Gethan 
the  Ezrahite,  and  Emad,  and  Chalcadi,  and  Aradab,  the  sons 
of  Madi.     And  he  was  famous  among  all  the  nations  round 

^  TO.  y.a.r'  ui/rou.  *  kccI  i%  uvTrjC  iyiviro.  ^  Cf.  1  Kings  X.  1—9. 


Book  hi.]  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  127 

about.  And  Solomon  spake  three  thousand  proverbs,  and  his 
songs  were  five  thousand.  And  he  spake  of  trees,  from  the 
cedar  that  is  in  Lebanon  even  to  the  hyssop  which  springeth 
out  of  the  wall ;  and  also  of  fishes  and  of  beasts.  And  all 
nations  came  to  hear  the  wisdom  of  Solomon,  and  from  all 
the  kings  of  the  earth  who  had  heard  of  the  fame  of  his 
wisdom."^ 

And  to  such  a  degree  does  the  gospel  desire  that  there  should 
be  wise  men  among  believers,  that  for  the  sake  of  exercising 
the  understanding  of  its  hearers,  it  has  spoken  certain  truths 
in  enigmas,  others  in  what  are  called  "  dark  "  sayings,  others  in 
parables,  and  others  in  problems.^  And  one  of  the  prophets — 
Hosea — says  at  the  end  of  his  prophecies  :  "  Who  is  wise,  and 
he  will  understand  these  things?  or  prudent,  and  he  shall 
know  them  ? "  ^  Daniel,  moreover,  and  his  fellow-captives, 
made  such  progress  in  the  learning  which  the  wise  men  around 
the  king  in  Babylon  cultivated,  that  they  were  shown  to  excel 
all  of  them  in  a  tenfold  degree.  And  in  the  book  of  Ezekiel 
it  is  said  to  the  ruler  of  Tyre,  who  greatly  prided  himself  on 
his  wisdom,  "  Art  thou  wiser  than  Daniel  ?  Every  secret  was 
npt  revealed  to  thee."* 

Chapter  xlvi. 

And  if  you  come  to  the  books  written  after  the  time  of  Jesus, 
you  will  find  that  those  multitudes  of  believers  who  hear  the 
parables  are,  as  it  were,  "  without,"  and  worthy  only  of  exoteric 
doctrines,  while  the  disciples  learn  in  private  the  explanation  of 
the  parables.  For,  privately,  to  His  own  disciples  did  Jesus 
open  up  all  things,  esteeming  above  the  multitudes  those  who 
desired  to  know  His  wisdom.  And  He  promises  to  those  who 
believe  upon  Him  to  send  them  wise  men  and  scribes,  saying, 
"  Behold,  I  will  send  unto  j^ou  wise  men  and  scribes,  and  some 
of  them  they  shall  kill  and  crucify."^     And  Paul  also,  in  the 

i  catalogue  of  "  Charismata"  bestowed  by  God,  placed  first  "  the 
word  of  wisdom,"  and  second,  as  being  inferior  to  it,  ''  the  word 

1  Cf.  1  Kings  iv.  29-3-i.  The  text  reads,  Trspl  titccutuu  tuv  Betai'hiuu  r^i 
yy,;,  for  -whicli  Trupci  has  been  substituted. 

^  Kdl  ciXha,  Szo6  5rpo/37i.>jjtt«TWi/.  ^  Hos.  X.  9. 

*  Cf.  Ezek.  XX.  3.  6  Cf.  Matt,  xxiii.  34. 


128  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  in. 

of  kuowledge,"  but  third,  and  lower  down,  "faith.'"-  And 
because  he  regarded  "  the  word "  as  higher  than  miraculous 
powers,  he  for  that  reason  places  "  Avorkings  of  miracles  "  and 
"  gifts  of  healings"  in  a  lower  place  than  the  gifts  of  the  word. 
And  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  Stephen  bears  witness  to  the 
great  learning  of  Moses,  which  he  had  obtained  wholly  from 
ancient  writings  not  accessible  to  the  multitude.  For  he  says  : 
"  And  Moses  was  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians."^ 
And  therefore,  with  respect  to  his  miracles,  it  was  suspected 
that  he  wrought  them  perhaps,  not  in  virtue  of  his  professing 
to  come  from  God,  but  by  means  of  his  Egyptian  knowledge, 
in  which  he  was  well  versed.  For  the  king,  entertaining  such 
a  suspicion,  summoned  the  Egyptian  magicians,  and  wise  men, 
and  enchanters,  who  were  found  to  be  of  no  avail  as  against 
the  wisdom  of  Moses,  which  proved  superior  to  all  the  wisdom 
of  the  Egyptians. 

Chapter  xlvit. 

But  it  is  probable  that  what  is  written  by  Paul  in  the  First 
Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,^  as  being  addressed  to  Greeks  who 
prided  themselves  greatly  on  their  Grecian  wisdom,  has  moved 
some  to  believe  that  it  was  not  the  object  of  the  gospel  to  win 
wise  men.  Now,  let  him  who  is  of  this  opinion  understand  that 
the  gospel,  as  censuring  wicked  men,  says  of  them  that  they 
are  wise  not  in  things  which  relate  to  the  understanding,  and 
which  are  unseen  and  eternal ;  but  that  in  busying  themselves 
about  things  of  sense  alone,  and  regarding  these  as  all-important, 
they  are  wise  men  of  the  world  :  for  as  there  are  in  existence 
a  multitude  of  opinions,  some  of  them  espousing  the  cause  of 
matter  and  bodies,*  and  asserting  that 'everything  is  corporeal 
which  has  a  substantial  existence,^  and  that  besides  these  nothing 
else  exists,  whether  it  be  called  invisible  or  incorporeal,  it  says 
also  that  these  constitute  the  wisdom  of  the  world,  which  perishes 
and  fades  away,  and  belongs  only  to  this  age,  while  those 
opinions  which  raise  the  soul  from  things  here  to  the  blessed- 
ness which  is  with  God,  and  to  His  kingdom,  and  which  teach 
men  to  despise  all  sensible  and  visible  things  as  existing  only 

1  Cf.  1  Cor.  xii.  8.  2  Acts  vii.  22.       3  Cf.  1  Cor.  i.  18,  etc. 

•  rot  yAv  avvctyopsvovTcc  v'A>i  x,xl  auy.xai.  *  rx  Trponyovficpu;  Kp£(77->jxoT«. 


Book  III.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  129 

for  a  season,  and  to  hasten  on  to  things  invisible,  and  to  have 
regard  to  those  things  which  are  not  seen, — these,  it  says,  con- 
stitute the  wisdom  of  God.  But  Paul,  as  a  lover  of  truth,  says 
of  certain  wise  men  among  the  Greeks,  when  their  statements 
are  true,  that  "  although  they  knew  God,  they  glorified  Him 
not  as  God,  neither  were  thankful."  ^  And  he  bears  witness 
that  they  knew  God,  and  says,  too,  that  this  did  not  happen  to 
them  without  divine  permission,  in  these  words  :  "  For  God 
showed  it  unto  them;""  dimly  alluding,  I  think,  to  those  who 
ascend  from  things  of  sense  to  those  of  the  understanding, 
when  he  adds,  "  For  the  invisible  things  of  God  from  the 
creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the 
things  that  are  made,  even  His  eternal  power  and  Godhead  ; 
so  that  they  are  without  excuse  :  because  that,  when  they  knew 
God,  they  glorified  Him  not  as  God,  neither  were  thankful."  ^ 

Chapter  xlviii. 

And  perhaps  also  from  the  words,  "  For  ye  see  your  calling, 
brethren,  how  that  not  many  wise  men  after  the  flesh,  not 
many  mighty,  not  many  noble,  are  called  :  but  God  hath  chosen 
the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  wise ;  and  the 
base  things,  and  the  things  which  are  despised,  hath  God  chosen, 
and  things  which  are  not,  to  bring  to  nought  things  that  are, 
that  no  flesh  may  glory  in  His  presence ; "  ^  some  have  been 
led  to  suppose  that  no  one  who  is  instructed,  or  wise,  or  prudent, 
embraces  the  gospel.  Now,  in  answer  to  such  an  one,  we  would 
say  that  it  has  not  been  stated  that  "no  wise  man  according  to  the 
flesh,"  but  that  "  not  many  wise  men  according  to  the  flesh,"  are 
called.  It  is  manifest,  further,  that  amongst  the  characteristic 
qualifications  of  those  who  are  termed  "  bishops,"  Paul,  in  de- 
scribing what  kind  of  man  the  bishop  ought  to  be,  lays  down  as 
a  qualification  that  he  should  also  be  a  teacher,  saying  that  he 
ought  to  be  able  to  convince  the  gainsayers,  that  by  the  wisdom 
which  is  in  him  he  may  stop  the  mouths  of  foolish  talkers  and 
deceivers.^  And  as  he  selects  for  the  episcopate  a  man  who  has 
been  once  married^  rather  than  he  who  has  twice  entered  the 

1  Cf.  Kom.  i.  21.  2  Eom.  i.  19.  ^  cf.  Rom.  i.  20-22. 

4  Cf.  1  Cor.  i.  26-28.  ^  Cf.  Tit.  i.  9,  10. 

**  ^lav6ycti4.ov.     Cf.  Can,  Apost.  c.  xvii. :   "  6  ova)  yccy.oi;  avy.Tr'hci!<.u;  ^sra 
OKIG.— VOL.  II.  I 


130  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  hi. 

married  state,  and  a  man  of  blameless  life  rather  than  one  who 
is  liable  to  censure,  and  a  sober  man  rather  than  one  who  is  not 
such,  and  a  prudent  man  rather  than  one  who  is  not  prudent,  and 
a  man  whose  behaviour  is  decorous  rather  than  he  who  is  open 
to  the  charge  even  of  the  slightest  indecorum,  so  he  desires  that 
he  who  is  to  be  chosen  by  preference  for  the  office  of  a  bishop 
should  be  apt  to  teach,  and  able  to  convince  the  gainsayers.  How 
then  can  Celsus  justly  charge  us  with  saying,  "  Let  no  one  come 
to  us  who  is  'instructed,'  or  '  wise,'  or  '  prudent?'"  Nay,  let  him 
who  wills  come  to  us  "instructed,"  and  "wise,"  and  "prudent;" 
and  none  the  less,  if  any  one  be  ignorant  and  unintelligent, 
and  uninstructed  and  foolish,  let  him  also  come  :  for  it  is  these 
whom  the  gospel  promises  to  cure,  when  they  come,  by  render- 
ing them  all  worthy  of  God. 

Chapter  xlix. 

This  statement  also  is  untrue,  that  it  is  "  only  foolish  and 
low  individuals,  and  persons  devoid  of  perception,  and  slaves, 
and  women,  and  children,  of  whom  the  teachers  of  the  divine 
word  wish  to  make  converts."  Such  indeed  does  the  gospel 
invite,  in  order  to  make  them  better ;  but  it  invites  also  others 
who  are  very  different  from  these,  since  Christ  is  the  Saviour 
of  all  men,  and  especially  of  them  that  believe,  whether  they 
be  intelligent  or  simple  ;  and  "  He  is  the  propitiation  with  the 
Father  for  our  sins ;  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  also  for  the 
sins  of  the  whole  world."  ^  After  this  it  is  superfluous  for  us 
to  wish  to  offer  a  reply  to  such  statements  of  Celsus  as  the 
following :  "  For  why  is  it  an  evil  to  have  been  educated,  and 
to  have  studied  the  best  opinions,  and  to  have  both  the  reality 
and  appearance  of  wisdom?  What  hindrance  does  this  offer 
to  the  knowledge  of  God?  Why  should  it  not  rather  be  an 
assistance,  and  a  means  by  which  one  might  be  better  able  to 
arrive  at  the  truth  ?  "  Truly  it  is  no  evil  to  have  been  educated, 
for  education  is  the  way  to  virtue ;  but  to  rank  those  amongst 
the  number  of  the  educated  who  hold  erroneous  opinions  is 

TO  ^a.'77'ziijy.a,^  '/J  "z tt.'K'ha.x.vJ  ;6T/i7«,w£i/or,  oy  Byj/arci/  ivjcti  I'TTiax.OTro;,  »?  rrpia- 
liiiTtpo;,  ij  ^tuKovo;,  'yj  oAsjj  roy  x.xTcc'ho'/ov  rov  ispuriKov.^^  Cf.  note  in  Bene- 
dictine ed. 

1  Cf.  1  John  ii.  2. 


Book  hi.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  131 

what  even  the  wise  men  amons;  the  Greeks  would  not  do.     On 
the  other  hand,  who  would  not  admit  that  to  have  studied  the 
best  opinions  is  a  blessing  ?     But  what  shall  we  call  the  best, 
save  those  which  are  true,  and  which  incite  men  to  virtue?  More- 
over, it  is  an  excellent  thing  for  a  man  to  he  wise,  but  not  to 
J  seem  so,  as  Celsus  says.     And  it  is  no  hindrance  to  the  know- 
I  ledge  of  God,  but  an  assistance,  to  have  been  educated,  and  to 
'  have  studied  the  best  opinions,  and  to  be  wise.    And  it  becomes 
us  rather  than  Celsus  to  say  this,  especially  if  it  be  shown  that 
he  is  an  Epicurean. 

Chapter  l. 

But  let  us  see  what  those  statements  of  his  are  which  follow 
next  in  these  words :  "  Nay,  we  see,  indeed,  that  even  those 
individuals,  who  in  the  market-places  perform  the  most  dis- 
graceful tricks,  and  who  gather  crowds  around  them,  would 
never  approach  an  assembly  of  wise  men,  nor  dare  to  exhibit 
their  arts  among  them ;  but  wherever  they  see  young  men, 
and  a  mob  of  slaves,  and  a  gathering  of  unintelligent  persons, 
thither  they  thrust  themselves  in,  and  show  themselves  off." 
Observe,  now,  how  he  slanders  us  in  these  words,  comparing  us 
to  those  who  in  the  market-places  perform  the  most  disreputable 
tricks,  and  gather  crowds  around  them !  What  disreputable 
tricks,  pray,  do  we  perform  ?  Or  what  is  there  in  our  conduct 
that  resembles  theirs,  seeing  that  by  means  of  readings,  and 
explanations  of  the  things  read,  we  lead  men  to  the  worship 
of  the  God  of  the  universe,  and  to  the  cognate  virtues,  and 
turn  them  away  from  contemning  Deity,  and  from  all  things 
contrary  to  right  reason  ?  Philosophers  verily  would  wish 
to  collect  together  such  hearers  of  their  discourses  as  exhort 
V  men  to  virtue, — a  practice  which  certain  of  the  Cynics  especially 
;  have  followed,  who  converse  publicly  with  those  whom  they 
happen  to  meet.  Will  they  maintain,  then,  that  these  who  do 
not  gather  together  persons  who  are  considered  to  have  been 
educated,  but  who  invite  and  assemble  hearers  from  the  public 
street,  resemble  those  who  in  the  market-places  perform  the  most 
disreputable  tricks,  and  gather  crowds  around  them  ?  Neither 
Celsus,  however,  nor  any  one  Avho  holds  the  same  opinions, 
will  blame  those  who,  agreeably  to  what  they  regard  as  a  feel- 


132  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  hi. 

ing  of  philauthropy,  address  their  arguments  to  the  ignorant 
populace. 

ChAPTEK  LI. 

And  if  they  are  not  to  be  blamed  for  so  doing,  let  us  see 
whether  Christians  do  not  exhort  multitudes  to  the  practice  of 
virtue   in   a   greater  and  better  degree  than   they.     For  the 
philosophers  who  converse   in   public  do  not  pick  and  choose 
their  hearers,  but  he  who  likes  stands  and  listens.     The  Chris- 
tians, however,  having  previously,  so  far  as  possible,  tested  the 
souls  of  those  who  wish  to  become  their  hearers,  and  having 
previously    instructed^    them    in    private,    when    they    appear 
(before  entering  the  community)  to  have  sufficiently  evinced 
their  desire  towards  a  virtuous  life,  introduce  them  then,  and 
not  before,  privately  forming  one  class  of  those  who  are  be- 
ginners, and  are  receiving  admission,  but  who  have  not  yet 
obtained  the  mark  of  complete  purification  ;    and  another  of 
those  who  have  manifested  to  the  best  of  their  ability  their 
intention  to  desire  no  other  things  than  are  approved  by  Chris- 
tians ;   and  among  these  there   are  certain  persons  appointed 
to  make  inquiries  regarding  the  lives  and  behaviour  of  those 
who  join  them,  in  order  that   they  may  prevent  those  who 
commit  acts  of  infamy  from  coming  into  their  public  assem- 
bly, while  those  of  a  different  character  they  receive  with  their 
whole  heart,  in  order  that  they  may  daily  make  them  better. 
And  this  is  their  method  of  procedure,  both  with  those  who 
are  sinners,  and  especially  with  those  who  lead  dissolute  lives, 
whom  they  exclude  from  their  community,  although,  according 
to  Celsus,  they  resemble  those  who  in  the  market-places  per- 
form the  most  shameful  tricks.     Now  the  venerable  school  of 
^the  Pythagoreans  used  to  erect  a  cenotaph  to  those  who  had 
apostatized  from  their  system  of  philosophy,  treating  them  as 
dead  ;  but  the  Christians  lament  as  dead  those  who  have  been 
I  vanquished  by  licentiousness  or  any  other  sin,  because  they  are 
I  lost  and  dead  to  God,  and  as  being  risen  from  the  dead  (if 
I  they  manifest  a  becoming  change)  they  receive  them  after- 
i  wards,  at  some  future  time,  after  a  greater  interval  than  in 
!  the  case  of  those  who  were  admitted  at  first,  but  not  placing 


Book  hi.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  133 

1  in  any  office  or  post  of  rank  in  the  church  of  God  those  who, 
!  after  professing  the  gospel,  lapsed  and  fell. 

Chapter  lii. 

Observe  now  with  regard  to  the  following  statement  of  Celsus, 
"  We  see  also  those  persons  who  in  the  market-places  perform 
most  disreputable  tricks,  and  collect  crowds  around  them," 
whether  a  manifest  falsehood  has  not  been  uttered,  and  things 
compared  which  have  no  resemblance.  He  says  that  these  indi- 
viduals, to  -whom  he  compares  us,  who  "  perform  the  most  dis- 
reputable tricks  in  the  market-places  and  collect  crow^ds,  would 
never  approach  an  assembly  of  wise  men,  nor  dare  to  show  off 
their  tricks  before  them ;  but  wherever  they  see  young  men,  and 
a  mob  of  slaves,  and  a  gathering  of  foolish  people,  thither  do 
they  thrust  themselves  in  and  make  a  display."  Now,  in 
speaking  thus  he  does  nothing  else  than  simply  load  us  with 
abuse,  like  the  women  upon  the  public  streets,  wdiose  object  is 
to  slander  one  another ;  for  we  do  everything  in  our  power 
to  secure  that  our  meetings  should  be  composed  of  wise  men, 
and  those  things  among  us  which  are  especially  excellent  and 
divine  we  then  venture  to  bring  forward  publicly  in  our  discus- 
sions when  we  have  an  abundance  of  intelligent  hearers,  while 
we  conceal  and  pass  by  in  silence  the  truths  of  deeper  import 
when  we  see  that  our  audience  is  composed  of  simpler  minds, 
which  need  such  instruction  as  is  figuratively  termed  "  milk." 

Chapter  ltii. 

For  the  word  is  used  by  our  Paul  in  writing  to  the  Corin- 
thians, who  were  Greeks,  and  not  yet  purified  in  their  morals : 
"  I  have  fed  you  with  milk,  not  with  meat ;  for  hitherto  ye 
were  not  able  to  bear  it,  neither  yet  now  are  ye  able,  for  ye 
are  yet  carnal :  for  whereas  there  is  among  you  envying  and 
strife,  are  ye  not  carnal,  and  walk  as  men  ?"  Now  the  same 
writer,  knowing  that  there  was  a  certain  kind  of  nourishment 
better  adapted  for  the  soul,  and  that  the  food  of  those  young  ^ 
persons  who  were  admitted  was  compared  to  milk,  continues : 
"  And  ye  are  become  such  as  have  need  of  milk,  and  not  of 
strong  meat.     For  every  one  that  useth  milk  is  unskilful  in  the 


134  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  in. 

^:^•ord  of  righteousness  ;  for  he  is  a  bahe.  But  strong  meat 
belongeth  to  them  that  are  of  full  age,  even  those  who  by 
reason  of  use  have  their  senses  exercised  to  discern  both  cood 
and  evil."^  "\Yould  then  those  who  believe  these  words  to  be 
well  spoken,  suppose  that  the  noble  doctrines  of  our  faith  would 
never  be  mentioned  in  an  assembly  of  wise  men,  but  that 
Avherever  [our  instructors]  see  young  men,  and  a  mob  of  slaves, 
and  a  collection  of  foolish  individuals,  they  bring  publicly 
forward  divine  and  venerable  truths,  and  before  such  persons 
make  a  display  of  themselves  in  treating  of  them  ?  But  it 
is  clear  to  him  who  examines  the  whole  spirit  of  our  writings, 
that  Celsus  is  animated  with  a  hatred  against  the  human  race 
resembling  that  of  the  ignorant  populace,  and  gives  utterance 
to  these  falsehoods  without  examination. 

Chapter  liv. 

We  acknowledge,  however,  although  Celsus  will  not  have  it 
so,  that  we  do  desire  to  instruct  all  men  in  the  word  of  God, 
so  as  to  give  to  young  men  the  exhortations  which  are  appro- 
priate to  them,  and  to  show  to  slaves  how  they  may  recover 
freedom  of  thought,^  and  be  ennobled  by  the  word.  And  those 
amongst  us  who  are  the  ambassadors  of  Christianity  sufficiently 
declare  that  they  are  debtors^  to  Greeks  and  barbarians,  to 
wise  men  and  fools,  (for  they  do  not  deny  their  obligation  to 
cure  the  souls  even  of  foolish  persons,)  in  order  that  as  far  as 
possible  they  may  lay  aside  their  ignorance,  and  endeavour  to 
obtain  greater  prudence,  by  listening  also  to  the  words  of  Solo- 
mon: "Oh,  ye  fools,  be  of  an  understanding  heart,"*  and  "Who 
is  the  most  simple  among  you,  let  him  turn  unto  me ; "  °  and 
wisdom  exhorts  those  who  are  devoid  of  understandinij  in  the 
words,  "  Come,  eat  of  my  bread,  and  drink  of  the  wine  which  I 
have  mixed  for  you.  Forsake  folly  that  ye  may  live,  and 
correct  understanding  in  knowledge."*'  This  too  would  I  say 
(seeing  it  bears  on  the  point),'  in  answer  to  the  statement  of 
Celsus  :  Do  not  philosophers  invite  young  men  to  their  lectures  ? 
and  do  they  not  encourage  young  men  to  exchange  a  wicked 

^  Heb.  V.  12-14.  "  i'hii/hpov  duct'ha.iiJv-i;  (fpouYifiu. 

8  Cf.  Pvom.  i.  14.  *  Cf.  Prov.  vlii.  5.  ^  Cf.  Prov.  ix.  4. 

6  Cf.  Prov.  ix.  5,  ().  ^  Oia.  TO.  iyy,iii^i-JX. 


Book  III.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  135 

life  for  a  better  ?  and  do  they  not  desire  slaves  to  learn  philo- 
sophy ?  Must  we  find  fault,  then,  with  philosophers  who  have 
exhorted  slaves  to  the  practice  of  virtue  ?  with  Pythagoras  for 
having  so  done  with  Zamolxis,  Zeno  with  Perseus,  and  with  those 
who  recently  encouraged  Epictetus  to  the  study  of  philosophy? 
Is  it  indeed  permissible  for  you,  O  Greeks,  to  call  youths  and 
slaves  and  foolish  persons  to  the  study  of  philosophy,  but  if  loe 
do  so,  we  do  not  act  from  philanthropic  motives  in  wishing  to 
heal  every  rational  nature  with  the  medicine  of  reason,  and  to 
bring  them  into  fellowship  with  God,  the  Creator  of  all  things? 
These  remarks,  then,  may  suffice  in  answer  to  what  are  slanders 
rather  than  accusations  ^  on  the  part  of  Celsus. 

Chapter  lv. 

But  as  Celsus  delights  to  heap  up  calumnies  against  us,  and, 
in  addition  to  those  wliich  he  has  already  uttered,  has  added 
others,  let  us  examine  these  also,  and  see  whether  it  be  the 
Christians  or  Celsus  wdio  have  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  what  is 
said.  He  asserts,  "  We  see,  indeed,  in  private  houses  workers 
in  wool  and  leather,  and  fullers,  and  persons  of  the  most 
uninstructed  and  rustic  character,  not  venturing  to  utter  a 
word  in  the  presence  of  their  elders  and  wiser  masters ;  ^  but 
when  they  get  hold  of  the  children  privately,  and  certain 
women  as  ignorant  as  themselves,  they  pour  forth  wonderful 
statements,  to  the  effect  that  they  ought  not  to  give  heed  to 
their  father  and  to  their  teachers,  but  should  obey  them ;  that 
the  former  are  foolish  and  stupid,  and  neither  know  nor  can 
perform  anything  that  is  really  good,  being  preoccupied  with 
empty  trifles  ;  that  they  alone  know  how  men  ought  to  live, 
and  that,  if  the  children  obey  them,  they  will  both  be  happy 
themselves,  and  will  make  their  home  happy  also.  And  while 
thus  speaking,  if  they  see  one  of   the   instructors   of  youth 

-  The  allusion  is  to  the  practice  of  wealthy  Greeks  and  Eomans  having 
among  their  slaves  artificers  of  various  kinds,  for  whose  service  there  was 
constant  demand  in  the  houses  and  villas  of  the  rich,  and  who  therefore 
had  their  residence  in  or  near  the  dwelling  of  their  master.  Many  of  these 
artificers  seem,  from  the  language  of  Celsus,  to  have  been  converts  to 
Cliristianity. 


136  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iir. 

approacliing,  or  one  of  the  more  intelligent  class,  or  even  the 
father  himself,  the  more  timid  among  them  become  afraid, 
while  the  more  forward  incite  the  children  to  throw  off  the 
yoke,  whispering  that  in  the  presence  of  father  and  teachers 
they  neither  will  nor  can  explain  to  them  any  good  thing, 
seeing  they  turn  away  with  aversion  from  the  silliness  and 
stupidity  of  such  persons  as  being  altogether  corrupt,  and  far 
advanced  in  wickedness,  and  such  as  would  inflict  punishment 
upon  them  ;  but  that  if  they  wish  [to  avail  themselves  of  their 
aid,]  they  must  leave  their  father  and  their  instructors,  and  go 
with  the  women  and  their  playfellows  to  the  women's  apart- 
ments, or  to  the  leather  shop,  or  to  the  fuller's  shop,  that  they 
may  attain  to  perfection ; — and  by  words  like  these  they  gain 
them  over." 

Chapter  lvi. 

Observe  now  how  by  such  statements  he  depreciates  those 
amonffst  us  who  are  teachers  of  the  word,  and  who  strive  in 
every  way  to  raise  the  soul  to  the  Creator  of  all  things,  and 
who  show  that  we  ought  to  despise  things  "sensible,"  and 
"  temporal,"  and  "  visible,"  and  to  do  our  utmost  to  reach 
communion  with  God,  and  the  contemplation  of  things  that 
are  "intelligent,"  and  "invisible,"  and  a  blessed  life  with  God, 
and  the  friends  of  God ;  comparing  them  to  "  workers  in  wool 
in  private  houses,  and  to  leather-cutters,  and  to  fullers,  and  to 
the  most  rustic  of  mankind,  who  carefully  incite  young  boys  to 
wickedness,  and  women  to  forsake  their  fathers  and  teachers, 
and  follow  them."  Now  let  Celsus  point  out  from  what  wise 
parent,  or  from  what  teachers,  we  keep  away  children  and 
women,  and  let  him  ascertain  by  comparison  among  those 
children  and  women  who  are  adherents  of  our  doctrine,  whether 
any  of  the  opinions  which  they  formerly  heard  are  better  than 
ours,  and  in  what  manner  we  draw  away  children  and  women 
from  noble  and  venerable  studies,  and  incite  them  to  worse 
things.  But  he  will  not  be  able  to  make  good  any  such  charge 
against  us,  seeing  that,  on  the  contrary,  we  turn  away  women 
from  a  dissolute  life,  and  from  being  at  variance  with  those 
;  with  whom  they  live,  from  all  mad  desires  after  theatres  and 
'  dancing,  and  from  superstition;  while  we  train  to  habits  of  self- 


Book  III.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSVS.  137 

restraint  boys  just  reaching  the  age  of  puberty,  and  feeling  a 
desire  for  sexual  pleasures,  pointing  out  to  them  not  only  the 
disgrace  "which  attends  those  sins,  but  also  the  state  to  which 
the  soul  of  the  wicked  is  reduced  through  practices  of  that 
kind,  and  the  judgments  which  it  will  suffer,  and  the  punish- 
ments which  will  be  inflicted. 

Chapter  lvii. 

But  who  are  the  teachers  whom  we  call  triflers  and  fool?:, 
whose  defence  is  undertaken  by  Celsus,  as  of  those  who  teach 
better  things  ?  [I  know  not,]  unless  he  deem  those  to  be  good 
instructors  of  women,  and  no  triflers,  who  invite  them  to  super- 
stition and  to  unchaste  spectacles,  and  those,  moreover,  to  be 
teachers  not  devoid  of  sense  who  lead  young  men  to  the  com- 
munion of  all  those  disorderly  acts  which  we  know  are  often 
committed  by  them.  We  indeed  call  away  these  also,  as  far  as 
we  can,  from  the  dogmas  of  philosophy  to  our  worship  of  God, 
by  showing  forth  its  excellence  and  purity.  But  as  Celsus,  by 
his  statements,  has  declared  that  we  do  not  do  so,  but  that  we 
call  only  the  foolish,  I  would  say  to  him,  "  If  you  had  charged 
us  with  withdrawing  from  the  study  of  philosophy  those  who 
w^ere  already  preoccupied  with  it,  you  would  not  have  spoken 
the  truth,  and  yet  your  charge  would  have  had  an  appearance 
of  probability ;  but  when  you  now  say  that  we  draw  away  our 
adherents  from  good  teachers,  show  who  are  those  other 
teachers  save  the  teachers  of  philosophy,  or  those  who  have  been 
appointed  to  give  instruction  in  some  useful  branch  of  study."  ^ 

He  will  be  unable,  however,  to  show  any  such  ;  while  we 
promise,  openly  and  not  in  secret,  that  they  will  be  happy  who 
live  according  to  the  word  of  God,  and  who  look  to  Him  in  all 
things,  and  who  do  everything,  whatever  it  is,  as  if  in  the  pre- 
sence of  God.  Are  these  the  instructions  of  workers  in  wool, 
and  of  leather-cutters,  and  fullers,  and  uneducated  rustics'? 
But  such  an  assertion  he  cannot  make  good. 

Chapter  lviii. 
But    those   who,   in  the    opinion    of    Celsus,   resemble    the 

Tlapa.a-rri'jov  to'jc  oiQxay.ot.'Kov;  oi'Khoxi;  ttccox,  rove  (fi'h.cao^pia.:  OiouuKcihov;, 
sj  TOff  Kard  rl  tuv  }ipr,(/i'y.uu  ■7>t'77oiYi/^iiiov;. 


138  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iir. 

workers  in  wool  in  private  bouses,  and  the  leather-cutters,  and 
fullers,  and  uneducated  rustics,  will,  he  alleges,  in  the  presence 
of  father  or  teachers  be  unwilling  to  speak,  or  unable  to  explain 
to  the  boys  anything  that  is  good.  In  answer  to  which,  we 
would  say,  What  kind  of  father,  my  good  sir,  and  what  kind  of 
teacher,  do  you  mean?  If  you  mean  one  who  approves  of 
virtue,  and  turns  away  from  vice,  and  welcomes  what  is  better, 
then  know,  that  with  the  greatest  boldness  will  we  declare  our 
opinions  to  the  children,  because  we  will  be  in  good  repute  with 
such  a  judge.  But  if,  in  the  presence  of  a  father  who  has  a 
hatred  of  virtue  and  goodness,  we  keep  silence,  and  also  before 
those  who  teach  what  is  contrary  to  sound  doctrine,  do  not  blame 
us  for  so  doing,  since  you  will  blame  us  without  good  reason. 
You,  at  all  events,  in  a  case  where  fathers  deemed  the  mysteries 
of  philosophy  an  idle  and  unprofitable  occupation  for  their  sons, 
and  for  young  men  in  general,  would  not,  in  teaching  philosophy, 
make  known  its  secrets  before  worthless  parents  ;  but,  desiring 
to  keep  apart  those  sons  of  wicked  parents  who  had  been  turned 
towards  the  study  of  philosophy,  you  would  observe  the  proper 
seasons,  in  order  that  the  doctrines  of  philosophy  might  reach 
the  minds  of  the  young  men.  And  we  say  the  same  regarding 
our  teachers.  For  if  we  turn  [our  hearers]  away  from  those 
instructors  who  teach  obscene  comedies  and  licentious  iambics, 
and  many  other  things  which  neither  improve  the  speaker  nor 
benefit  the  hearers  (because  the  latter  do  not  know  how  to  listen 
to  poetry  in  a  philosophic  frame  of  mind,  nor  the  former  how  to 
say  to  each  of  the  young  men  what  tends  to  his  profit),  we  are 
not,  in  following  such  a  course,  ashamed  to  confess  what  we  do. 
'  But  if  you  will  show  me  teachers  who  train  young  men  for 
philosophy,  and  who  exercise  them  in  it,  I  will  not  from  such 
turn  away  young  men,  but  will  try  to  raise  them,  as  those  who 
have  been  previously  exercised  in  the  whole  circle  of  learning 
and  in  philosophical  subjects,  to  the  venerable  and  lofty  height 
of  eloquence  which  lies  hid  from  the  multitude  of  Christians, 
where  are  discussed  topics  of  the  greatest  importance,  and  wliere 
it  is  demonstrated  and  shown  that  they  have  been  treated  philo- 
sophically both  by  the  prophets  of  God  and  the  apostles  of 
Jesus. 


BooKiii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  139 


Chapter  lix. 

Immediately  after  this,  Celsus,  perceiving  that  he  has  slan- 
dered us  with  too  great  bitterness,  as  if  by  way  of  defence 
expresses  himself  as  follows  :  "  That  I  bring  no  heavier  charge 
than  what  the  truth  compels  me,  any  one  may  see  from  the 
following  remarks.  Those  who  invite  to  participation  in  other 
mysteries,  make  proclamation  as  follows  :  '  Every  one  who  has 
clean  hands,  and  a  prudent  tongue;'^  others  again  thus:  'He 
who  is  pure  from  all  pollution,  and  whose  soul  is  conscious  of  no 
evil,  and  who  has  lived  well  and  justly.'  Such  is  the  proclama- 
tion made  by  those  who  promise  purification  from  sins.  But  let 
us  hear  what  kind  of  persons  these  Christians  invite.  Every 
one,  they  say,  who  is  a  sinner,  who  is  devoid  of  understanding, 
who  is  a  child,  and,  to  speak  generally,  whoever  is  unfortunate, 
him  will  the  kingdom  of  God  receive.  Do  you  not  call  him  a 
sinner,  then,  who  is  unjust,  and  a  thief,  and  a  housebreaker,  and 
a  poisoner,  and  a  committer  of  sacrilege,  and  a  robber  of  the 
dead  ?  What  others  would  a  man  invite  if  he  were  issuing  a 
proclamation  for  an  assembly  of  robbers?"  Now,  in  answer  to 
such  statements,  we  say  that  it  is  not  the  same  thing  to  invite 
those  who  are  sick  in  soul  to  be  cured,  and  those  who  are  iu 
health  to  the  knowledge  and  studi/  of  divine  things.  We,  how- 
ever, keeping  both  these  things  in  view,  at  first  invite  all  men 
to  be  healed,  and  exhort  those  who  are  sinners  to  come  to  the 
consideration  of  the  doctrines  which  teach  men  not  to  sin,  and 
those  who  are  devoid  of  understandino;  to  those  which  becret 
wisdom,  and  those  who  are  children  to  rise  in  their  thoughts  to 
manhood,  and  those  who  are  simply^  unfortunate  to  good 
fortune,^  or — which  is  the  more  appropriate  term  to  use — to 
blessedness.^  And  when  those  who  have  been  turned  towards 
virtue  have  made  progress,  and  have  shown  that  they  have  been 
purified  by  the  word,  and  have  led  as  far  as  they  can  a  better 
life,  then  and  not  before  do  we  invite  them  to  participation  in 
our  mysteries.  "  For  we  speak  wisdom  among  them  that  are 
perfect."  ^ 

*  fcxy.xpioT/irci.  •''  Cf.  1  Cor.  ii.  6. 


140  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  hi. 

Chapter  lx. 

And  as  we  teach,  moreover,  that  "  wisdom  will  not  enter 
into  the  soul  of  a  base  man,  nor  dwell  in  a  body  that  is  involved 
in  sin,"  ^  we  say,  Whoever  has  clean  hands,  and  therefore  lifts 
up  holy  hands  to  God,  and  by  reason  of  being  occupied  with 
elevated  and  heavenly  things,  can  say,  "The  lifting  up  of  my 
hands  is  as  the  evening  sacrifice,"  ^  let  him  come  to  us ;  and 
whoever  has  a  wise  tono-ue  throuirh  meditatincp  on  the  law  of 
the  Lord  day  and  night,  and  by  "  reason  of  habit  has  his  senses 
exercised  to  discern  between  good  and  evil,"  let  him  have  no 
reluctance  in  comino;  to  the  strono;  and  rational  sustenance 
which  is  adapted  to  those  who  are  athletes  in  piety  and  every 
virtue.  And  since  the  grace  of  God  is  with  all  those  who  love 
with  a  pure  affection  the  teacher  of  the  doctrines  of  immor- 
tality, whoever  is  pure  not  only  from  all  defilement,  but  from 
what  are  regarded  as  lesser  transgressions,  let  him  be  boldly 
initiated  in  the  mysteries  of  Jesus,  which  properly  are  made 
known  only  to  the  holy  and  the  pure.  The  initiated  of  Celsus 
accordingly  says,  "  Let  him  whose  soul  is  conscious  of  no  evil 
come."  But  he  who  acts  as  initiator,  according  to  the  precepts 
of  Jesus,  will  say  to  those  who  have  been  purified  in  heart, 
"  He  whose  soul  has,  for  a  long  time,  been  conscious  of  no  evil, 
and  especially  since  he  yielded  himself  to  the  healing  of  the 
word,  let  such  an  one  hear  the  doctrines  M'hich  were  spoken  in 
private  by  Jesus  to  His  genuine  disciples."  Therefore  in  the 
comparison  which  he  institutes  between  the  procedure  of  the 
initiators  into  the  Grecian  mysteries,  and  the  teachers  of  the 
doctrine  of  Jesus,  he  does  not  know  the  difference  between 
inviting  the  wicked  to  be  healed,  and  initiating  those  already 
purified  into  the  sacred  mysteries ! 

• 
Chapter  lxi. 

Not  to  participation  in  mysteries,  then,  and  to  fellowsldp  in 
the  wisdom  hidden  in  a  mystery,  which  God  ordained  before  the 
world  to  the  glory  of  His  saints,^  do  we  invite  the  wiched  man, 
and  the  thief,  and  the  househreaher,  and  the  poisoner,  and  the 
committer  of  sacrilege,  and  the  plunderer  of  the  dead,  and  all 

I  Wisd.  Solom.  i.  4.  2  qi  pg.  pxli.  2.  s  Cf.  1  Cor.  ii.  7. 


Book  III.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  141 

those  others  whom  Celsus  may  enumerate  in  his  exaggerating 
style,  but  such  as  these  we  invite  to  be  healed.  For  there  are 
in  the  divinity  of  the  word  some  helps  towards  the  cure  of  those 
who  are  sick,  respecting  which  the  word  says,  "They  that  be 
whole  need  not  a  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick ; "  ^  others, 
again,  which  to  the  pure  in  soul  and  body  exhibit  "  the  revela- 
tion of  the  mystery,  which  was  kept  secret  since  the  world 
began,  but  now  is  made  manifest  by  the  Scriptures  of  the  pro- 
phets," ^  and  "  by  the  appearing  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  ^ 
I  which  "appearing"  is  manifested  to  each  one  of  those  who 
are  perfect,  and  which  enlightens  the  reason*  in  the  true^ 
'  knowledge  of  thino;s.  But  as  he  exaggerates  the  charges  against 
us,  adding,  after  his  list  of  those  vile  individuals  whom  he  has 
mentioned,  this  remark,  "  What  other  persons  would  a  robber 
summon  to  himself  by  proclamation?"  we  answer  such  a 
question  by  saying  that  a  robber  summons  around  him  indivi- 
duals of  such  a  character,  in  order  to  make  use  of  their  villany 
against  the  men  whom  they  desire  to  slay  and  plunder.  A 
Christian,  on  the  other  hand,  even  though  he  invite  those  whom 
the  robber  invites,  invites  them  to  a  very  different  vocation, 
viz.  to  bind  up  these  wounds  by  His  word,  and  to  apply  to  the 
soul,  festering  amid  evils,  the  drugs  obtained  from  the  word, 
and  which  are  analogous  to  the  wine  and  oil,  and  plasters,  and 
other  healing  appliances  which  belong  to  the  art  of  medicine. 

Chapter  lxii. 

In  the  next  place,  throwing  a  slur^  upon  the  exhortations 
spoken  and  written  to  those  who  have  led  wicked  lives,  and 
which  invite  them  to  repentance  and  reformation  of  heart,  he 
asserts  that  we  say  "  that  it  was  to  sinners  that  God  has  been 
sent."  Now  this  statement  of  his  is  much  the  same  as  if  he 
were  to  find  fault  with  certain  persons  for  saying  that  on 
account  of  the  sick  who  were  living  in  a  city,  a  physician  had 
been  sent  them  by  a  very  benevolent  monarch.  God  the  Word 
was  sent,  indeed,  as  a  physician  to  sinners,  but  as  a  teacher  of 
divine  mysteries  to  those  who  are  already  pure  and  who  sin  no 
more.    But  Celsus,  unable  to  see  this  distinction, — for  he  had  no 

1  Matt.  ix.  12.  2  Eoni_  ^vi.  25,  26.  ^  cf.  2  Tim.  ii.  10. 

*  TO  ii'/iu.ovix.ov.  ^  d-d/tvhv;.  ^  av/.o(pa.vruy. 


) 


i 


U2  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  hi. 

desire  to  be  animated  with  a  love  of  truth, — remarks,  "Why- 
was  he  not  sent  to  those  who  were  without  sin  ?  What  evil  is 
it  not  to  have  committed  sin  ?  "  To  which  we  reply,  that  if  by 
those  "who  were  without  sin"  he  means  those  who  sin  no 
more,  then  our  Saviour  Jesus  was  sent  even  to  such,  but  not 
as  a  physician.  While  if  by  those  "  who  were  without  sin"  he 
means  such  as  have  never  at  any  time  sinned, — for  he  made  no 
distinction  in  his  statement, — we  reply  that  it  is  impossible  for 
a  man  thus  to  be  without  sin.  And  this  we  say,  excepting,  of  y 
course,  the  man  understood  to  be  in  Christ  Jesus/  who  "  did  no 
sin."  It  is  with  a  malicious  intent,  indeed,  that  Celsus  says  of 
us  that  we  assert  that  "  God  will  receive  the  unrighteous  man 
if  he  humble  himself  on  account  of  his  wickedness,  but  that 
He  will  not  receive  the  righteous  man,  although  he  look  up  to 
Him,  [adorned]  with  virtue  from  the  beginning."  Now  we  assert 
that  it  is  impossible  for  a  man  to  look  up  to  God  [adorned] 
with  virtue  from  the  beginning.  For  wickedness  must  neces- 
sarily first  exist  in  men.  As  Paul  also  says,  "When  the  com- 
mandment came,  sin  revived,  and  I  died."^  Moreover,  we  do 
not  teach  resjarding  the  unrio;hteous  man,  that  it  is  sufficient 
for  him  to  humble  himself  on  account  of  his  wickedness  in 
order  to  his  being  accepted  by  God,  but  that  God  will  accept 
him  if,  after  passing  condemnation  upon  himself  for  his  past 
conduct,  he  walk  humbly  on  account  of  it,  and  in  a  becoming 
manner  for  the  time  to  come. 

Chapter  lxiii. 

After  this,  not  understanding  how  it  has  been  said  that 
*' every  one  who  exalteth  himself  shall  be  abased;"^  nor 
(although  taught  even  by  Plato)  that  "  the  good  and  virtuous 
man  walketh  humbly  and  orderly;"  and  ignorant,  moreover,  that 
we  give  the  injunction,  "  Humble  yourselves,  therefore,  under 
the  mighty  hand  of  God,  that  He  may  exalt  you  in  due  time;"* 
he  says  that  "  those  persons  who  preside  properly  over  a  trial 
make  those  individuals  who  bewail  before  them  their  evil  deeds 
to  cease  from  their  piteous  wailings,  lest  their  decisions  should 
be  determined  rather  by  compassion  than  by  a  regard  to  truth ; 

^  vvt^xtpofiiuov  roil  x,(x.r»  tov  Z-fi'jovv  voov/ni^ov  duSpuTrov. 

2  Kom.  vii.  9.  =  Cf.  Matt,  xxiii.  12.  *  1  Pet.  v.  6. 


Book  III.]  OPdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  143 

whereas  God  does  not  decide  in  accordance  with  truth,  but  in 
accordance  with  flattery."  ^  Now,  what  words  of  flattery  and 
piteous  waiHng  are  contained  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  when  the 
sinner  says  in  his  prayers  to  God,  "  I  have  acknowledged  my 
sin,  and  mine  iniquity  have  I  not  hid.  I  said,  I  will  confess  my 
transgression  to  the  Lord,"  etc.  etc.  ?  For  is  he  able  to  show- 
that  a  procedure  of  this  kind  is  not  adapted  to  the  conversion  of 
sinners,  who  humble  themselves  in  their  prayers  under  the  hand 
of  God  ?  And,  becoming  confused  by  his  effort  to  accuse  us, 
he  contradicts  himself ;  appearing  at  one  time  to  know  a  man 
"  without  sin,"  and  "  a  righteous  man,  who  can  look  up  to  God 
[adorned]  with  virtue  from  the  beginning ; "  and  at  another 
time  accepting  our  statement  that  there  is  no  man  altogether 
righteous,  or  without  sin ;  ^  for,  as  if  he  admitted  its  truth,  he 
remarks,  "This  is  indeed  apparently  true,  that  somehow  the 
human  race  is  naturally  inclined  to  sin."  In  the  next  place,  as 
if  all  men  were  not  invited  by  the  word,  he  says,  "  AH  men, 
then,  without  distinction,  ought  to  be  invited,  since  all  indeed 
are  sinners."  And  yet,  in  the  preceding  pages,  we  have  pointed 
out  the  words  of  Jesus  :  "  Come  unto  me,  all  je  that  labour  and 
are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."^  All  men,  there- 
fore, labouring  and  being  heavy  laden  on  account  of  the  nature 
of  sin,  are  invited  to  the  rest  spoken  of  in  the  word  of  God, 
"  for  God  sent  His  word,  and  healed  them,  and  delivered  them 
from  their  destructions."  * 

Chapter  lxiv. 

But  since  he  says,  in  addition  to  this,  "What  is  this  pre- 
ference of  sinners  over  others  ?  "  and  makes  other  remarks 
of  a  similar  nature,  we  have  to  reply  that  absolutely  a 
sinner  is  not  preferred  before  one  wdio  is  not  a  sinner  ; 
but  that  sometimes  a  sinner,  who  has  become  conscious  of 
his  own  sin,  and  for  that  reason  comes  to  repentance,  being 
humbled  on    account    of    his    sins,    is   preferred    before    one 

^  "s^po;  KoT^ctKziecu. 

2  In  the  text  it  is  put  interrogatively  :  rt'g  cLuSpw^ro;  n'hiug  oiKUiog;  sj  t/j 
uvx,u»prriros ;  The  allusion  seems  to  be  to  Job  xv.  14 :  ri's  yctp  uu  liporos, 
on  itsTcci  aiA-sy^-TTTQ;  •  i]  u;  iaoy^evo;  oikcho;  yivv/irog  yvvxiy.o;. 

8  Matt.  xi.  28.  *  Ps.  cvii.  20. 


144  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  hi. 

.  \vho  is  accounted  a  lesser  sinner,  but  who  does  not  consider 
■  himself  one,  but  exalts  himself  on  the  ground  of  certain  good 
qualities  which  he  thinks  he  possesses,  and  is  greatly  elated 
on  their  account.  And  this  is  manifest  to  those  who  are 
willing  to  peruse  the  Gospels  in  a  spirit  of  fairness,  by  the 
parable  of  the  publican,  who  said,  '•  Be  merciful  to  me  a 
sinner,"  ^  and  of  the  Pharisee  who  boasted  with  a  certain  wicked 
self-conceit  in  the  words,  "  I  thank  Thee  that  I  am  not  as  other 
men  are,  extortioners,  unjust,  adulterers,  or  even  as  this  pub- 
lican."" For  Jesus  subjoins  to  His  narrative  of  them  both  the 
words :  "  This  man  went  down  to  his  house  justified  rather 
than  the  other :  for  every  one  that  exalteth  himself  shall  be 
abased ;  and  he  that  humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted."  ^  We 
utter  no  blasphemy,  then,  against  God,  neither  are  we  guilty  of 
falsehood,  when  we  teach  that  every  man,  whoever  he  may  be,  is 
conscious  of  human  infirmity  in  comparison  with  the  greatness 
of  God,  and  that  we  must  ever  ask  from  Him,  who  alone  is  able  to 
supply  our  deficiencies,  what  is  wanting  to  our  [mortal]  nature. 

Chapter  lxv. 

He  imagines,  however,  that  we  utter  these  exhortations  for 
the  conversion  of  sinners,  because  we  are  able  to  gain  over  no 
one  who  is  really  good  and  righteous,  and  therefore  open  our 
gates  to  the  most  unholy  and  abandoned  of  men.  But  if  any 
one  will  fairly  observe  our  assemblies,  we  can  present  a  greater 
number  of  those  who  have  been  converted  from  not  a  very 
wicked  life,  than  of  those  who  have  committed  the  most 
abominable  sins.  For  naturally  those  who  are  conscious  to 
themselves  of  better  things,  desire  that  those  promises  may  be 
true  which  are  declared  by  God  regarding  the  reward  of  the 
righteous,  and  thus  assent  more  I'cadily  to  the  statements  [of 
Scripture]  than  those  do  who  have  led  very  wicked  lives,  and 
who  are  prevented  by  their  very  consciousness  [of  evil]  from 
admitting  that  they  will  be  punished  by  the  Judge  of  all  with 
such  punishment  as  befits  those  who  have  sinned  so  greatly,  and 
as  would  not  be  inflicted  by  the  Judge  of  all  contrary  to  right 
reason.^    Sometimes,  also,  when  very  abandoned  men  are  willing 

^  Luke  xviii.  13.  ^  L^kc  xviii.  11.  ^  L^ke  xviii.  14. 

■*  Kui  'jii  TTcicci  rou  opdov  "hiyav  •Tvpoodt.yotTO  Ctto  tcv  I-ttI  TTciai  ^Dixarov. 


Book  III.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  145 

to  accept  the  doctrine  of  [future]  punishment,  on  account  of 
the  hope  which  is  based  upon  repentance,  they  are  prevented 
from  so  doing  by  their  habit  of  sinning,  being  constantly 
dipped,  and,  as  it  were,  dyed  in  wickedness,  and  possessing  no 
longer  the  power  to  turn  from  it  easily  to  a  proper  life,  and 
one  recTulated  accordincr  to  rio;ht  reason.  And  although  Celsus 
observes  this,  he  nevertheless,  I  know  not  why,  expresses  him- 
self in  the  following  terms :  "  And  yet,  indeed,  it  is  manifest 
to  every  one  that  no  one  by  chastisement,  much  less  by  merciful 
treatment,  could  effect  a  complete  change  in  those  who  are 
sinners  both  by  nature  and  custom,  for  to  change  nature  is  an 
exceedingly  difficult  thing.  But  they  who  are  without  sin  are 
partakers  of  a  better  life." 

Chapter  lxvi. 

Now  here  Celsus  appears  to  me  to  have  committed  a  great 
error,  in  refusing  to  those  who  are  sinners  by  nature,  and  also 
by  habit,  the  possibility  of  a  complete  transformation,  alleging 
that  they  cannot  be  cured  even  by  punishment.  For  it  clearly 
appears  that  all  men  are  inclined  to  sin  by  nature,  and  some 
not  only  by  nature  but  by  practice,  while  not  all  men  are  incap- 
able of  an  entire  transformcition.  For  there  are  found  in  every 
philosophical  sect,  and  in  the  word  of  God,  persons  who  are 
related  to  have  undergone  so  gi'eat  a  change  that  they  may  be 
proposed  as  a  model  of  excellence  of  hfe.  Among  the  names 
of  the  heroic  age  some  mention  Hercules  and  Ulysses,  among 
those  of  later  times,  Socrates,  and  of  those  who  have  lived  very 
recently,  Musonius.^  Not  only  against  us,  then,  did  Celsus 
utter  the  calumny,  when  he  said  that  "  it  was  manifest  to  every 
one  that  those  who  were  given  to  sin  by  nature  and  habit 
could  not  by  any  means — even  by  punishments — be  completely 
chanced  for  the  better,"  but  also  aiiainst  the  noblest  names  in 
philosophy,  who  have  not  denied  that  the  recovery  of  virtue  was 
a  possible  thing  for  men.  But  although  he  did  not  express  his 
meaning  with  exactness,  we  shall  nevertheless,  though  giving  his 
words  a  more  favourable  construction,  convict  him  of  unsound 
reasoning.     For  his  words  were  :  "  Those  Avho  are  inclined  to 

^  He  is  said  to  have  been  either  a  Babylonian  or  Tyrrhenian,  and  to  have 
lived  in  the  reign  of  Nero.     Cf.  Philostratus,  iv.  12.— Ru.EUS. 
OEIG. — VOL.  XI.  K 


146  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  hi. 

sin  by  nature  and  habit,  no  one  could  completely  reform  even 
by  chastisement  ; "  and  his  words,  as  we  understood  them,  we 
refuted  to  the  best  of  our  ability.^ 

Chapter  lxvii. 

It  is  probable,  however,  that  he  meant  to  convey  some  such 
meaning  as  this,  that  those  who  were  both  by  nature  and  habit 
given  to  the  commission  of  those  sins  which  are  committed  by 
the  most  abandoned  of  men,  could  not  be  completely  trans- 
formed even  by  punishment.  And  yet  this  is  shown  to  be  false 
from  the  history  of  certain  philosophers.  For  who  is  there  that 
would  not  rank  among  the  most  abandoned  of  men  the  indivi- 
dual who  somehow  submitted  to  yield  himself  to  his  master, 
when  he  placed  him  in  a  brothel,^  that  he  might  allow  himself 
to  be  polluted  by  any  one  who  liked  %  And  yet  such  a  circum- 
stance is  related  of  Phgedo !  And  who  will  not  agree  that  he 
who  burst,  accompanied  with  a  flute-player  and  a  party  of 
revellers,  his  profligate  associates,  into  the  school  of  the  vener- 
able Xenocrates,  to  insult  a  man  who  was  the  admiration  of  his 
friends,  was  not  one  of  the  greatest  miscreants^  among  man- 
kind ?  Yet,  notwithstanding  this,  reason  was  powerful  enough 
to  effect  their  conversion,  and  to  enable  them  to  make  such 
progress  in  philosophy,  that  the  one  was  deemed  worthy  by 
Plato  to  recount  the  discourse  of  Socrates  on  immortality,  and 
to  record  his  firmness  in  prison,  when  he  evinced  his  contempt 
of  the  hemlock,  and  with  all  fearlessness  and  tranquillity  of 
mind  treated  of  subjects  so  numerous  and  important,  that  it  is 
difiicult  even  for  those  to  follow  them  who  are  giving  their 
utmost  attention,  and  who  are  disturbed  by  no  distraction ;  while 
Polemon,  on  the  other  hand,  who  from  a  profligate  became  a 
man  of  most  temperate  life,  was  successor  in  the  school  of  Xeno- 
crates, so  celebrated  for  his  venerable  character.  Celsus  then 
does  not  speak  the  truth  when  he  says  "  that  sinners  by  nature 
and  habit  cannot  be  completely  reformed  even  by  chastisement." 

Chapter  lxviii. 
That   philosophical    discourses,    however,    distinguished    by 

*  xaj  TO  t^ccx-ovofitivov  cctto  t^s  Tii^su;,  ug  Zwurov  ii,cih,  ccviTpi-ipctfisv. 

'  iiri  Tiyovg.  3  fx,icipuru70i/  du6pu-7rau. 


Book  hi.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  147 

orderly  arrangement  and  elegant  expression/  should  produce 
such  results  in  the  case  of  those  individuals  just  enumerated, 
and  upon  others^  who  have  led  wicked  lives,  is  not  at  all  to  be 
wondered  at.  But  when  we  consider  that  those  discourses, 
which  Celsus  terms  "vulgar,"^  are  filled  with  power,  as  if  they 
were  spells,  and  see  that  they  at  once  convert  multitudes  from 
a  life  of  licentiousness  to  one  of  extreme  regularity,^  and  from 
a  life  of  wickedness  to  a  better,  and  from  a  state  of  cowardice 
or  unmanliness  to  one  of  such  high-toned  courage  as  to  lead 
men  to  despise  even  death  through  the  piety  which  shows  Itself 
within  them,  why  should  we  not  justly  admire  the  power  which 
they  contain  %  For  the  words  of  those  who  at  the  first  assumed 
the  office  of  [Christian]  ambassadors,  and  who  gave  their 
labours  to  rear  up  the  churches  of  God, — nay,  their  preaching 
also, — were  accompanied  with  a  persuasive  power,  though  not 
like  that  found  among  those  who  profess  the  philosophy  of 
Plato,  or  of  any  other  merely  human  philosopher,  which  pos- 
sesses no  other  qualities  than  those  of  human  nature.  But  the 
demonstration  which  followed  the  words  of  the  apostles  of 
Jesus  was  given  from  God,  and  was  accredited  ^  by  the  Spirit 
and  b}^  power.  And  therefore  their  word  ran  swiftly  and 
speedily,  or  rather  the  word  of  God  through  their  instrumen- 
tality, transformed  numbers  of  persons  who  had  been  sinners 
both  by  nature  and  habit,  whom  no  one  could  have  reformed 
by  punishment,  but  who  were  changed  by  the  word,  which 
moulded  and  transformed  them  according  to  its  pleasure. 

Chapter  lxix. 

Celsus  continues  in  his  usual  manner,  asserting  that  "  to 
change  a  nature  entirely  is  exceedingly  difficult."  We,  how- 
ever, who  know  of  only  one  nature  in  every  rational  soul,  and 
who  maintain  that  none  has  been  created  evil  by  the  Author  of 
all  things,  but  that  many  have  become  wicked  through  educa- 
tion, and  perverse  example,  and  surrounding  influences,*^  so 

^  'AATia  T'/jy  [/,lu  ra,^i'j  y,cc\  avvOiaiv  x-ou  (Pputitv  rZv  xtto  (piXorrofix;  'hiyuu. 
2  The  reading  in  the  text  is  aXAtiij,  for  Avhich  aAAoy;  has  been  conjectured 
by  Ruseus  and  Boherellus,  and  which  has  been  adopted  in  the  translation. 
^  ioiuriKOv;.  *  ivatci6icn(x.ro'j.  ^  'Trtartx.'/i  d%o  7r!/iv//,eiT0;. 


148  OmGEN  AGAIA\ST  CELSUS.  [Book  m. 

that  wickedness  has  been  naturah'zed^  in  some  individuals,  are 
persuaded  that  for  the  word  of  God  to  change  a  nature  in 
which  evil  has  been  naturalized  is  not  only  not  impossible,  but 
is  even  a  work  of  no  very  great  difficulty,  if  a  man  only  believe 
that  he  must  entrust  himself  to  the  God  of  all  things,  and  do 
everything  with  a  view  to  please  Him  with  whom 

"  Both  good  and  bad  are  not  in  the  same  honour, 
Xor  do  the  idle  man  and  he  who  has  laboured  much 
Perish  alike."  2 

But  even  if  it  be  exceedingly  difficult  to  effect  a  cliange  in 
some  persons,  the  cause  must  be  held  to  lie  in  their  own  wilK 
which  is  reluctant  to  accept  the  belief  that  the  God  over  all 
things  is  a  just  Judge  of  all  the  deeds  done  during  life.  For 
deliberate  choice  and  practice  ^  avail  much  towards  the  accom- 
plishment of  things  which  appear  to  be  very  difficult,  and,  to 
speak  hyperbolically,  almost  impossible.  Has  the  nature  of 
man,  when  desiring  to  walk  along  a  rope  extended  in  the  air 
through  the  middle  of  the  theatre,  and  to  carry  at  the  same 
time  numerous  and  heavy  weights,  been  able  by  practice  and 
attention  to  accomplish  such  a  feat ;  but  when  desiring  to  live 
in  conformity  with  the  practice  of  virtue,  does  it  find  it  impos- 
sible to  do  so,  altliough  formerly  it  may  have  been  exceedingly 
wicked  ?  See  whether  he  who  holds  such  views  does  not  bring 
a  charge  against  the  nature  of  the  Creator  of  the  rational 
animal"^  rather  than  against  the  creature,  if  He  has  formed  the 
nature  of  man  with  powers  for  the  attainment  of  things  of  such 
difficulty,  and  of  no  utility  whatever,  but  has  rendered  it  in- 
capable of  securing  its  own  blessedness.  But  these  remarks  may 
suffice  as  an  answer  to  the  assertion  that  "  entirely  to  change 
a  nature  is  exceedingly  difficult."  He  alleges,  in  the  next  place, 
that  "they  who  are  without  sin  are  partakers  of  a  better  life ;" 
not  making  it  clear  what  he  means  by  "  those  who  are  without 
sin,"  whether  those  who  are  so  from  the  beginning  [of  their 
lives],  or  those  who  become  so  by  a  transformation.  Of  those 
who  were  so  from  the  beginning  of  their  lives,  there  cannot 
possibly  be  any ;  while  those  who  are  so  after  a  transformation 
[of  heart]  are  found  to  be  few  in  number,  being  those  who 

^  (pvaiud?,uu:.  "  Cf.  Iliad,  ix.  319,  320. 

^  wpoccioidts  y.<x.\  a.ay.ning.  *  tov  Ko'/ikov  ^mv. 


Book  III.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  140 

have  become  so  after  giving  in  their  allegiance  to  the  saving 
word.  And  they  were  not  such  when  they  gave  in  their  alle- 
giance. For,  apart  from  the  aid  of  the  word,  and  that  too  the 
word  of  perfection,  it  is  impossible  for  a  man  to  become  free 
from  sin. 

CHArXER  LXX. 

In  the  next  place,  he  objects  to  the  statement,  as  if  it  were 
maintained  by  us,  that  "  God  will  be  able  to  do  all  things,"  not 
seeing  even  here  how  these  words  are  meant,  and  what  ''  the 
all  thiiigs"  are  which  are  included  in  it,  ^nd  how  it  is  said  that 
God  "  will  be  able."  But  on  these  matters  it  is  not  necessary 
now  to  speak ;  for  although  he  might  with  a  show  of  reason 
have  opposed  this  proposition,  he  has  not  done  so.  Perhaps 
he  did  not  understand  the  arguments  which  might  be  plausibly 
used  against  it,  or  if  he  did,  he  saw  the  answers  that  might  be 
returned.  Now  in  our  judgment  God  can  do  everything  which 
it  is  possible  for  Him  to  do  without  ceasing  to  be  God,  and 
good,  and  wise.  But  Celsus  asserts — not  comprehending  the 
meaning  of  the  expression  "  God  can  do  all  things  " — "  that 
He  will  not  desire  to  do  anything  wicked,"  admitting  that  He 
has  the  power,  but  not  the  zoill,  to  commit  evil.  We,  on  the 
contrary,  maintain  that  as  that  W'hich  by  nature  possesses  the 
property  of  sweetening  other  things  through  its  own  inherent 
sweetness  cannot  produce  bitterness  contrary  to  its  own  pecu- 
liar nature,-^  nor  that  whose  nature  it  is  to  produce  light 
through  its  being  light  can  cause  darkness ;  so  neitlier  is  God 
able  to  commit  wickedness,  for  the  power  of  doing  evil  is  con- 
trary to  His  deity  and  its  omnipotence.  Whereas  if  any  one 
among  existing  things  is  able  to  commit  wickedness  from  being 
inclined  to  wickedness  by  nature,  it  does  so  from  not  having  in 
its  nature  the  ability  not  to  do  evil. 

Chapter  lxxi. 

He  next  assumes  what  is  not  granted  by  the  more  rational 
class  of  believers,  but  what  perhaps  is  considered  to  be  true 
by  some  who  are  devoid  of  intelligence, — viz.  that  "  God,  like 

•XUfioi  T'/iU  u-jTOU  (^(ivfiv  ahiecv. 


150  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  m. 

those  ^Yho  are  overcome  with  pity,  being  Himself  overcome, 
alleviates  the  sufferings  of  the  -vvicked  through  pity  for  their 
wailings,  and  casts  off  the  good,  who  do  nothing  of  that  kind, 
which  is  the  height  of  injustice."  Now,  in  our  judgment,  God 
lightens  the  sufferinsr  of  no  wicked  man  who  has  not  betaken 
himself  to  a  virtuous  life,  and  casts  off  no  one  who  is  already 
good,  nor  yet  alleviates  the  suffering  of  any  one  who  mourns, 
simply  because  he  utters  lamentation,  or  takes  pity  upon  him, 
to  use  the  word  pity  in  its  more  common  acceptation.'"'  But 
those  who  have  passed  severe  condemnation  upon  themselves 
because  of  their  sins,  .and  who,  as  on  that  account,  lament  and 
bewail  themselves  as  lost,  so  far  as  their  previous  conduct  is 
concerned,  and  who  have  manifested  a  satisfactory  change,  are 
received  by  God  on  account  of  their  repentance,  as  those  who 
have  undergone  a  transformation  from  a  life  of  great  wicked- 
ness. For  virtue,  taking  up  her  abode  in  the  souls  of  these 
persons,  and  expelling  the  wickedness  which  had  previous  pos- 
session of  them,  produces  an  oblivion  of  the  past.  And  even 
although  virtue  do  not  effect  an  entrance,  yet  if  a  considerable 
progress  take  place  in  the  soul,  even  that  is  sufficient,  in  the  pro- 
portion that  it  is  progressive,  to  drive  out  and  destroy  the  flood 
of  wickedness,  so  that  it  almost  ceases  to  remain  in  the  soul. 

Chapter  lxxii. 

In  the  next  place,  speaking  as  in  the  person  of  a  teacher 
of  our  doctrine,  he  expresses  himself  as  follows:  "Wise  men 
reject  what  we  say,  being  led  into  error,  and  ensnared  by  their 
wisdom."  In  reply  to  which  we  say  that,  since  wisdom  is  the 
knowledge  of  divine  and  human  things  and  of  their  causes,  or, 
as  it  is  defined  by  the  word  of  God,  "  the  breath  of  the  power 
of  God,  and  a  pure  influence  flowing  from  the  glory  of  the 
Almiglity,  and  the  brightness  of  the  everlasting  light,  and  the 
unspotted  mirror  of  the  power  of  God,  and  the  image  of  Ilis 
goodness,"^  no  one  who  was  really  wise  would  reject  what  is  said 
by  a  Christian  acquainted  with  the  principles  of  Christianity, 
or  would  be  led  into  error,  or  ensnared  by  it.  For  true  wisdom 
does  not  mislead,  but  ignorance  does,  while  of  existing  things 

^  'ivx  KOiuc-rspov  Tw  i'hiii  ;(;p9;i7&)£««/. 
-  Cf.  Wisd.  of  Solom.  vii.  25,  26. 


Book  III.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  151 

knowledge  alone  is  permanent,  and  the  truth  which  is  derived 
from  wisdom.  But  if,  contrary  to  the  definition  of  wisdom, 
you  call  any  one  whatever  who  dogmatizes  with  sophistical 
opinions  wise,  we  answer  that  in  conformity  with  what  you 
call  wisdom,  such  an  one  rejects  the  words  of  God,  being 
misled  and  ensnared  by  plausible  sophisms.  And  since, 
according  to  our  doctrine,  wisdom  is  not  the  knowledge  of 
evil,  but  the  knowledge  of  evil,  so  to  speak,  is  in  those 
who  hold  false  opinions  and  who  are  deceived  by  them,  I 
would  therefore  in  such  persons  term  it  ignorance  rather  than 
•wisdom. 

Chapter  lxxiii. 

After  this  he  again  slanders  the  ambassador  of  Christianity, 
and  gives  out  regarding  him  that  he  relates  "  ridiculous  things," 
although  he  does  not  show  or  clearly  point  out  what  are  the 
things  which  he  calls  "ridiculous."  And  in  his  slanders  he 
says  that  "  no  wise  man  believes  the  gospel,  being  driven  away 
by  the  multitudes  who  adhere  to  it."  And  in  this  he  acts 
like  one  who  should  say  that  owing  to  the  multitude  of  those 
ignorant  persons  who  are  brought  into  subjection  to  the  laws, 
no  wise  man  would  yield  obedience  to  Solon,  for  example,  or 
to  Lycurgus,  or  Zaleucus,  or  any  other  legislator,  and  espe- 
cially if  by  wise  man  he  means  one  who  is  wise  [by  living]  in 
conformity  with  virtue.  For,  as  with  regard  to  these  ignorant 
persons,  the  legislators,  according  to  their  ideas  of  utility, 
caused  them  to  be  surrounded  with  appropriate  guidance  and 
laws,  so  God,  legislating  through  Jesus  Christ  for  men  in  all 
parts  of  the  world,  brings  to  Himself  even  those  who  are  not 
wise  in  the  way  in  which  it  is  possible  for  such  persons  to  be 
brought  to  a  better  life.  And  God,  well  knowing  this,  as  we 
have  already  shown  in  the  preceding  pages,  says  in  the  books 
of  Moses ;  "  They  have  moved  me  to  jealousy  with  that  which 
is  not  God ;  they  have  provoked  me  to  anger  with  their  idols : 
and  I  will  move  them  to  jealousy  with  those  which  are  not  a 
people ;  I  will  provoke  them  to  anger  with  a  foolish  nation."  ^ 
And  Paul  also,  knowing  this,  said,  "  But  God  hath  chosen  the 
foolish  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  wise,"  ^  calling,  in 
1  Cf.  Deut.  xxxii.  21.  ^  q^  i  q^^  i   27. 


152  OniGEN  AGAIJXST  CELSUS.  [Book  hi. 

a  general  way,  wise  all  ^Yho  appear  to  have  made  advances  in 
knowledge,  but  have  fallen  into  an  atheistic  polytheism,  since 
"  professing  themselves  to  be  wise  they  became  fools,  and 
changed  the  glory  of  the  incorruptible  God  into  an  image 
made  like  to  corruptible  man,  and  to  birds,  and  four-footed 
beasts,  and  creeping  things."  ^ 

Chapter  lxxiv. 

He  accuses  the  Christian  teacher,  moreover,  of  "  seeking 
after  the  unintelligent."  In  answer,  we  ask.  Whom  do  you 
mean  by  the  "unintelligent?"  For,  to  speak  accurately,  every 
wicked  man  is  "unintelligent."  If  then  by  "unintelligent" 
you  mean  the  wicked,  do  you,  in  drawing  men  to  philosophy, 
seek  to  gain  the  wicked  or  the  virtuous  ?  "  But  it  is  impossible 
to  gain  the  virtuous,  because  they  have  already  given  them- 
selves to  philosophy.  The  wicked,  then,  [you  try  to  gain;]  but 
if  they  are  wicked,  are  they  "  unintelligent "?  "  And  many  such 
you  seek  to  win  over  to  philosophy,  and  you  therefore  seek 
the  "unintelligent."  But  if  I  seek  after  those  who  are  thus 
termed  "  unintelligent,"  I  act  like  a  benevolent  physician,  who 
should  seek  after  the  sick  in  order  to  help  and  cure  them.  If, 
liowever,  by  "unintelligent"  you  mean  persons  who  are  not 
clever,^  but  the  inferior  class  of  men  intellectually,*  I  shall 
answer  that  I  endeavour  to  improve  such  also  to  the  best 
of  my  ability,  although  I  would  not  desire  to  build  up  the 
Christian  community  out  of  such  materials.  For  I  seek  in 
preference  those  who  are  more  clever  and  acute,  because  they 
are  able  to  comprehend  the  meaning  of  the  hard  sayings,  and 
of  those  passages  in  the  law,  and  prophecies,  and  Gospels,  which 
are  expressed  with  obscurity,  and  which  you  have  despised  as 
not  containing  anything  worthy  of  notice,  because  you  have 
not  ascertained  the  meaning  which  they  contain,  nor  tried  to 
enter  into  the  aim  of  the  writers. 

^  Kom.  i.  22,  23.  ^  dimtov;.  ^  -zw;  f/.')i  £vTp$x^h- 

*  The  reading  in  the  text  is  npuruOiaTipov;,  of  which  Ruseus  remarks, 

"  Hie  nullum  habet  locum."     KxTcton^Tspovg  has  been  conjectured  instead, 

and  has  been  adopted  in  the  translation. 


i 


Book  in.]  OlilGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  153 


Chapter  lxxv. 

But  as  he  afterwards  says  that  "the  teacher  of  Christianity 
acts  like  a  person  who  promises  to  restore  patients  to  bodily 
health,  but  who  prevents  them  from  consulting  skilled  phy- 
sicians, by  whom  his  ignorance  would  be  exposed,"  we  shall 
inquire  in  reply,  "  What  are  the  physicians  to  whom  you  refer, 
from  whom  we  turn  away  ignorant  individuals  ?  For  you  do 
not  suppose  that  we  exhort  those  to  embrace  the  gospel  wdio  are 
devoted  to  philosophy,  so  that  you  would  regard  the  latter  as 
the  physicians  from  whom  we  keep  away  such  as  we  invite  to 
come  to  the  word  of  God."  He  indeed  will  make  no  answer, 
because  he  cannot  name  the  physicians ;  or  else  he  will  be 
obliged  to  betake  himself  to  those  of  them  who  are  ignorant, 
and  who  of  their  own  accord  servilely  yield  themselves  to 
the  worship  of  many  gods,  and  to  whatever  other  opinions 
are  entertained  by  ignorant  individuals.  In  either  case,  then, 
he  will  be  shown  to  have  employed  to  no  purpose  in  his 
argument  the  illustration  of  "one  who  keeps  others  away 
from  skilled  physicians."  But  if,  in  order  to  preserve  from 
the  philosophy  of  Epicurus,  and  from  such  as  are  considered 
physicians  after  his  system,  those  who  are  deceived  by  them, 
why  should  we  not  be  acting  most  reasonably  in  keeping 
such  away  from  a  dangerous  disease  caused  by  the  physi- 
cians of  Celsus, — that,  viz.,  which  leads  to  the  annihilation 
of  providence,  and  the  introduction  of  pleasure  as  a  good? 
But  let  it  be  conceded  that  we  do  keep  away  those  wliom 
vre  encourage  to  become  our  disciples  from  other  philo- 
sopher-physicians,— from  the  Peripatetics,  for  example,  who 
deny  the  existence  of  providence  and  the  relation  of  Deity  to 
man, — why  shall  we  not  piously  train  and  heal  those  who  have 
been  thus  encouraged,  persuading  them  to  devote  themselves 
to  the  God  of  all  things,  and  free  those  who  yield  obedience  to 
us  from  the  great  wounds  inflicted  by  the  words  of  such  as  are 
deemed  to  be  philosophers?  Nay,  let  it  also  be  admitted  that 
we  turn  away  from  physicians  of  the  sect  of  the  Stoics,  who 
introduce  a  corruptible  god,  and  assert  that  his  essence  consists 
^  For  iwiSil;  in  the  text,  Boherellus  conjectures  sio-j/Si;. 


154  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  hi. 

'of  a  body,  -which  is  capable  of  being  changed  and  altered  in 
all  its  parts/  and  who  also  maintain  that  all  things  will  one 
day  perish,  and  that  God  alone  will  be  left ;  why  shall  we  not 
even  thus  emancipate  our  subjects  from  evils,  and  bring  them 
by  pious  arguments  to  devote  themselves  to  the  Creator,  and 
to  admire  the  Father  of  the  Christian  system,  who  has  so 
arranged  that  instruction  of  the  most  benevolent  kind,  and 
fitted  for  the  conversion  of  souls,^  should  be  distributed 
throughout  the  whole  human  race?  Nay,  if.we  should  cure 
those  who  have  fallen  into  the  folly  of  believing  in  the  trans- 
migration of  souls  through  the  teaching  of  physicians,  who  will 
have  it  that  the  rational  nature^Hescehds  sometimes  into  all 
kinds  of  irrational  animals,  and  sometimes  into  that  state 
of  being  which  is  incapable  of  using  the  imagination,^  why 
should  we  not  improve  the  souls  of  our  subjects  by  means  of  a 
doctrine  which  does  not  teach  that  a  state  of  insensibility  or 
irrationalism  is  produced  in  the  wicked  instead  of  punishment, 
but  which  shows  that  the  labours  and  chastisements  inflicted 
upon  the  wicked  by  God  are  a  kind  of  medicines  leading  to 
conversion?  For  those  who  are  intelligent  Christians,* keeping 
this  in  view,  deal  with  the  simple-minded,  as  parents  do  with 
very  young  ^  children.  We  do  not  betake  ourselves  then  to 
young  persons  and  silly  rustics,  saying  to  them,  "  Flee  from 
physicians."  Nor  do  we  say,  "  See  that  none  of  you  lay  hold 
of  knowledge;"  nor  do  we  assert  that  "knowledge  is  an  evil;" 
nor  are  we  mad  enough  to  say  that  "  knowledge  causes  men 
to  lose  their  soundness  of  mind."  We  would  not  even  say  that 
any  one  ever  perished  through  wisdom ;  and  although  we  give 

1  dio'j   <pdcipr6u   stcw/oyrcov,  x,xt  rviv  ovaietu    eciiTOv  T^iyovrav   aZfict  rcs'Trrov 

^  The  words  in  the  text  are,  (piT^uvdcw^roTocToe.  i'TrnjrpiTTix.ov,  xkI  t^vx^y 
(x.ot.S-/ifiv.Tcc  oiy.ovofi'/i<Tuvru,  for  which  we  have  adopted  in  the  translation 
the  emendatiou  of  Boherellus,  (piJ^xv^pu-^orccrx  x.x\  ■ipvx^i'  iT'iarpsTrnxei 
f^etdiriiAXTcc. 

^  cc'A'Acl  x,xu  TOyj  'Tre-rroydorag  rr,'j  rnpl  rv;;  f/.iTVj(iC;<y.xrc>:(Jtu;  alvoioiv  ei'TZo 
letTpojv,  Tuv  x,u7U[liiiu'!^6i/~av  ty,v  'ho'yf/.v.u  (pvatv  on  yAv  lizi  rvju  aXoyov  rruaxu, 
oVs  0£  nut  iTTi  rr.'J  u.'$a,'j7a.ar(tv. 

•*  Instead  of  0/  (^po'jiy.ut  Xpiuriayoi  Cavn:,  as  in  the  text,  Ruaeus  and 
Boherelhis  conjecture  0/  (ppouifiug  Xpianccvi^ovrs:,  etc. 


Book  hi.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  155 

instruction,  we  never  say,  "  Give  heed  to  me,"  but  "  Give  heed 
to  the  God  of  all  things,  and  to  Jesus,  the  giver  of  instruction 
concerning  Him."  And  none  of  us  is  so  great  a  braggart^  as 
to  say  what  Celsus  put  in  the  mouth  of  one  of  our  teachers  to 
his  acquaintances,  "  I  alone  will  save  you."  Observe  here  the 
lies  which  he  utters  against  us  !  Moreover,  we  do  not  assert  that 
"  true  physicians  destroy  those  whom  they  promise  to  cure." 

Chapter  lxxvi. 

And  he  produces  a  second  illustration  to  our  disadvantage, 
saying  that  "our  teacher  acts  like  a  drunken  man,  who, 
entering  a  company  of  drunkards,  should  accuse  those  who  are 
sober  of  being  drunk."  But  let  him  show,  say  from  the  writ- 
ings of  Paul,  that  the  apostle  of  Jesus  gave  way  to  drunken- 
ness, and  that  his  words  were  not  those  of  soberness ;  or  from 
the  writings  of  John,  that  his  thoughts  do  not  breathe  a  spirit 
of  temperance  and  of  freedom  from  the  intoxication  of  evil. 
kI  No  one,  then,  who  is  of  sound  mind,  and  teaches  the  doctrines 
of  Christianity,  gets  drunk  with  wine ;  but  Celsus  utters  these 
calumnies  against  us  in  a  spirit  very  unlike  that  of  a  philo- 
sopher. Moreover,  let  Celsus  say  who  those  "  sober"  persons 
are  whom  the  ambassadoi's  of  Christianity  accuse.  For  in 
our  judgment  all  are  intoxicated  who  address  themselves  to  in- 
animate objects  as  to  God.  And  why  do  I  say  "  intoxicated?" 
"  Insane  "  would  be  the  more  appropriate  word  for  those  who 
hasten  to  temples  and  worship  images  or  animals  as  divinities. 
And  they  too  are  not  less  insane  who  think  that  images, 
fashioned  by  men  of  worthless  and  sometimes  most  wicked 
character,  confer  any  honour  upon  genuine  divinities. 

Chapter  lxxvii. 

He  next  likens  our  teacher  to  one  suffering  from  ophthalmia, 
and  his  disciples  to  those  suffering  from  the  same  disease,  and 
says  that  "such  an  one  amongst  a  company  of  those  who  are 
afflicted  with  ophthalmia,  accuses  those  who  are  sharp-sighted 
of  being  blind."  Who,  then,  would  we  ask,  O  Greeks,  are 
they  who  in  our  judgment  do  not  see,  save  those  who  are  un- 
able to  look  up  from  the  exceeding  greatness  of  the  world  and 

^  oi't'.aZ.uv. 


15G  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iii. 

its  contents,  and  from  the  beauty  of  created  things,  and  to  see 
that  they  ought  to  worship,  and  admire,  and  reverence  Him 
alone  who  made  these  things,  and  that  it  is  not  befitting  to 
treat  with  reverence  anything  contrived  by  man,  and  applied 
to  the  honour  of  God,  whether  it  be  without  a  reference  to  the 
Creator,  or  with  one  ?  ^  For,  to  compare  with  that  illimitable 
excellence,  which  surpasses  all  created  being,  things  which  ought 
not  to  be  brought  into  comparison  with  it,  is  the  act  of  those 
whose  understanding  is  darkened.  We  do  not  then  say  that 
those  who  are  sharp-sighted  are  suffering  from  ophthalmia  or 
blindness ;  but  we  assert  that  those  who,  in  ignorance  of  God, 
give  themselves  to  temples  and  images,  and  so-called  sacred 
seasons,'  are  blinded  in  their  minds,  and  especially  when,  in 
addition  to  their  impiety,  they  live  also  in  licentiousness,  not 
even  inquiring  after  any  honourable  work  whatever,  but  doing 
everything  that  is  of  a  disgraceful  character. 

Chapter  lxxviii. 

After  having  brought  against  us  charges  of  so  serious  a  kind, 
he  wishes  to  make  it  appear  that,  although  he  has  others  to 
adduce,  he  passes  them  by  in  silence.  His  words  are  as  follow  : 
"  These  charges  I  have  to  bring  against  them,  and  others  of  a 
similar  nature,  not  to  enumerate  them  one  by  one,  and  I  affirm 
that  they  are  in  error,  and  that  they  act  insolently  towards  God, 
in  order  to  lead  on  wicked  men  by  empty  hopes,  and  to  persuade 
them  to  despise  better  things,  saying  that  if  they  refrain  from 
them  it  will  be  better  for  them."  In  aiiswer  to  which,  it  might 
be  said  that  from  the  power  which  shows  itself  in  those  who 
are  converted  to  Christianity,  it  is  not  at  all  the  "  wicked  "  who 
are  won  over  to  the  gospel,  as  the  more  simple  class  of  pex'sons, 
and,  as  many  would  term  them,  the  "  unpolished."  ^  For  such 
individuals,  through  fear  of  the  punishments  that  are  threat- 
ened, which  arouses  and  exhorts  them  to  refrain  from  those 
actions  which  are  followed  by  punishments,  strive  to  yield  them- 
selves up  to  the   Christian   religion,  being  influenced  by  the 

^  un  x^P'S  '^'^^  OYi^uiovpyou  6eov  i'tTi  x.u\  f^ir    iKiivov.  "  iepof^nvtui. 

^  The  reading  in  the  text  is  Koy.-ipoi,  which  is  so  opjiosed  to  the  sense  of 
the  passage,  that  the  coujectui'e  of  Guietus,  uKOf/.-^pot,  has  beau  adopted  ia 
the  translation. 


Book  III.]  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  Vol 

power  of  the  word  to  such  a  degree,  that  through  fear  of  what 
are  called  in  the  word  "  everlastujg  punishments,"  they  despise 
all  the  tortures  which  are  devised  against  them  among  men, — 
even  death  itself,  with  countless  other  evils, — which  no  wise 
man  would  say  is  the  act  of  persons  of  wicked  mind.  How  can 
temperance  and  sober-mindedness,  or  benevolence  and  liberality, 
be  practised  by  a  man  of  wicked  mind?  Nay,  even  the  fear 
of  God  cannot  be  felt  by  such  an  one,  with  respect  to  which, 
because  it  is  useful  to  the  many,  the  gospel  encourages  those 
who  are  not  yet  able  to  choose  that  which  ought  to  be  chosen 
for  its  own  sake,  to  select  it  as  the  greatest  blessing,  and  one 
above  all  promise ;  for  this  principle  cannot  be  implanted  in 
him  who  prefers  to  live  in  wickedness. 

Chapter  lxxix. 

But  if  in  these  matters  any  one  were  to  imagine  that  it  is 
superstition  rather  than  wickedness  which  appears  in  the  mul- 
titude of  those  who  believe  the  word,  and  should  charge  our 
doctrine  with  making  men  superstitious,  we  shall  answer  him 
by  saying  that,  as  a  certain  legislator  replied  to  the  question  of 
one  who  asked  him  whether  he  had  enacted  for  his  citizens  the 
best  laws,  that  he  had  not  given  them  absolutely  the  best,  but 
the  best  which  they  w^ere  capable  of  receiving ;  so  it  might  be 
said  by  the  Father  of  the  Christian  doctrine,  I  have  given  the 
best  laws  and  instruction  for  the  improvement  of  morals  of 
which  the  many  were  capable,  not  threatening  sinners  with 
imaginary  labours  and  chastisements,  but  with  such  as  are  real, 
and  necessary  to  be  applied  for  the  correction  of  those  who 
offer  resistance,  although  they  do  not  at  all  understand  the 
object  of  him  who  inflicts  the  punishment,  nor  the  effect  of  the 
labours.  For  the  doctrine  of  punishment  is  both  attended  wath 
utility,  and  is  agreeable  to  truth,  and  is  stated  in  obscure  terms 
with  advantage.  Moreover,  as  for  the  most  part  it  is  not  the 
wicked  whom  the  ambassadors  of  Christianity  gain  over,  neither 
do  we-  insult  God.  For  we  speak  regarding  Him  both  what  is 
true,  and  what  appears  to  be  clear  to  the  multitude,  but  not  so 
clear  to  them  as  it  is  to  those  few  who  investigate  the  truths  of 
the  gospel  in  a  philosophical  manner. 


158  OPdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iii. 

Chapter  lxxx. 

Seeing,  however,  that  Celsus  alleges  that  "  Christians  are 
won  over  by  us  through  vain  hopes,"  we  thus  reply  to  him 
when  he  finds  fault  with  our  doctrine  of  the  blessed  life,  and 
of  communion  with  God  :  "  As  for  you,  good  sir,  they  also  are 
won  over  by  vain  hopes  who  have  accepted  the  doctrine  of 
Pythagoras  and  Plato  regarding  the  soul,  that  it  is  its  nature 
to  ascend  to  the  vault -^  of  heaven,  and  in  the  super-celestial 
space  to  behold  the  sights  which  are  seen  by  the  blessed  spec- 
tators above.  According  to  you,  O  Celsus,  they  also  who  have 
accepted  the  doctrine  of  the  duration  of  the  soul  [after  death], 
and  who  lead  a  life  through  which  they  become  heroes,  and 
make  their  abodes  with  the  gods,  are  won  over  by  vain  hopes. 
Probably  aljq  they  who  are  persuaded  that  the  soul  comes 
[into  the  body]  from  without,  and  that  it  will  be  withdrawn 
from  the  power  of  death,^  would  be  said  by  Celsus  to  be  won 
over  by  empty  hopes.  Let  him  then  come  forth  to  the  con- 
test, no  longer  concealing  the  sect  to  which  he  belongs,  but 
confessing  himself  to  be  an  Epicurean,  and  let  him  meet  the 
arguments,  which  are  not  L'ghtly  advanced  among  Greeks  and 
barbarians,  regarding  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  or  its  dura- 
tion [after  death],  or  the  immortality  of  the  thinking  principle;^ 
and  let  him  prove  that  these  are  words  which  deceive  with 
empty  hopes  those  who  give  their  assent  to  them ;  but  that  the 
adherents  of  his  philosophical  system  are  pure  from  empty 
hopes,  and  that  they  indeed  lead  to  hopes  of  good,  or — what  is 
more  in  keeping  with  his  opinions — give  birth  to  no  hope  at 
all,  on  account  of  the  immediate  and  complete  destruction  of 
the  soul  [after  death].  Unless,  perhaps,  Celsus  and  the  Epi- 
cureans will  deny  that  it  is  a  vain  hope  which  they  entertain 
regarding  their  end, — pleasure, — which,  according  to  them,  is 

~  TcHx^  Oi  Ketl  01  'TTSicdivrs;  "Tnpi  to?  6vpct.6iv  vov^  ug  dctvocrov  kuivov  B/s|- 
uya-/Y,u  s'loi/roj,  etc.  LocuB  certe  obscurus,  cui  lucem  afferre  conatur  Bohe- 
rellus,  legendo  divisim  u;  &uvirov  kuI  vw  on^mycdy/iv  'i^ovTo;,  ut  sensus  sit 
"morti  etiam  mentem  subductum  iri."  Nam  si  Gvpa&iv  '/imi  vjv;,  consequens 
est  ut  ScivciTov  y,M.\  vovg  dii^ci'/uy'/iv  i'/,^.  Cf.  Ai'istot.  lib.  ii.  c.  3,  de  yenera- 
iione  animaliinn. — Spencer. 

"  4}  Tij;  roll  i/cv  ccdctvuatccs. 


Book  hi.]  ORIGEX  AGAINST  CELSUS.  159 

the  supreme  goorl,  and  wliicli  consists  in  the  permanent  health 
of  the  body,  and  the  hope  regarding  it  which  is  entertained  by 
Epicurus.^ 

Chapter  lxxxi. 

And  do  not  suppose  that  it  is  not  in  keeping  with  the 
Christian  religion  for  me  to  have  accepted,  against  Celsus,  the 
opinions  of  those  philosophers  who  have  treated  of  the  immor- 
tality or  after-duration  of  the  soul ;  for,  holding  certain  views 
in  common  with  them,  we  shall  more  conveniently  establish 
our  position,  that  the  future  life  of  blessedness  shall  be  for 
^  those  only  who  have  accepted  the  religion  which  is  according 
to  Jesus,  and  that  devotion  towards  the  Creator  of  all  things 
which  is  pure  and  sincere,  and  unmingled  with  any  created 
thing  whatever.  And  let  him  who  likes  show  what  "  better 
things"  we  persuade  men  to  despise,  and  let  him  compare  the 
blessed  end  with  God  in  Christ, — that  is,  the  word,  and  the 
wisdom,  and  all  virtue, — which,  according  to  our  view,  shall  be 
bestowed,  by  the  gift  of  God,  on  those  who  have  lived  a  pure 
and  blameless  life,  and  who  have  felt  a  single  and  undivided 
love  for  the  God  of  all  things,  with  that  end  which  is  to 
follow  according  to  the  teaching  of  each  philosophic  sect, 
whether  it  be  Greek  or  barbarian,  or  according  to  the  pro- 
fessions of  religious  mysteries ;  ^  and  let  him  prove  that  the 
end  which  is  predicted  by  any  of  the  others  is  superior  to  that 
which  we  promise,  and  consequently  that  that  is  true,  and  ours 
not  befitting  the  gift  of  God,  nor  those  who  have  lived  a  good 
life  ;  or  let  him  prove  that  these  words  were  not  spoken  by  the 
divine  Spirit,  who  filled  the  souls  of  the  holy  prophets.  And 
let  him  who  likes  show  that  those  words  which  are  acknow- 
ledged among  all  men  to  be  human,  are  superior  to  those  which 
are  proved  to  be  divine,  and  uttered  by  inspiration.  And  what 
are  the  "  better"  things  from  which  we  teach  those  w^ho  receive 
them  that  it  would  be  better  to  abstain?     For  if  it  be  not 

E/  U.71  a.pa.  Ksy\(jo;  kuI  oi  ^^T^iKOvpnoi  oii  (^viaovat  x.ovSr,v  eTvcci  I'KTriOsi  t/iv 
"TTipi  TOV  Ti'Ko'j;  xvTUv  rvjg  '/joovvi;,  vjrts  y.ce.r  cti/Toi/g  Ian  to  dyadou,  ro  rij;  acipKli 
iiidrctSz;  ■/.a.TU.OTf.u.u,  -/cctl  to  wipl  txvtyi;  ttkttov    E'ttix.oCo'j)  'i'KTriauci. 

Tu  Kud''  v/.v.QT/i'j  (^iKoai^u'j  oCipiat'j  iv  '"EM^riOtv  ij  /2otp/i»poi;,  ij  /nvaT/ipiuln 
i'lTccy/i'Kiciv,  TsMi. 


160  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iir. 

arrogant  so  to  speak,  it  is  self-evident  that  nothing  can  be 
denied  which  is  better  than  to  entrust  oneself  to  the  God  of  all, 
and  yield  oneself  up  to  the  doctrine  which  raises  us  above  all 
created  things,  and  brings  us,  through  the  animate  and  living 
word — which  is  also  living  wisdom  and  the  Sou  of  God — to 
God  who  is  over  all.  However,  as  the  third  book  of  our 
answers  to  the  treatise  of  Celsus  has  extended  to  a  sufficient 
length,  we  shall  here  bring  our  present  remarks  to  a  close,  and 
in  \\h2it  is  to  follow  shall  meet  what  Celsus  has  subsequently 
written. 


BOOK   IV. 


ti 


Chapter  t. 

AVING,  in  the  three  preceding  books,  fully  stated 
what  occurred  to  us  by  way  of  answer  to  the 
treatise  of  Celsus,  we  now,  reverend  Ambrosius, 
with  prayer  to  God  through  Christ,  offer  this 
fourth  book  as  a  reply  to  what  follows.  And  we  pray  that 
words  may  be  given  us,  as  it  is  written  in  the  book  of  Jeremiah 
that  the  Lord  said  to  the  prophet :  "  Behold,  I  have  put  my 
words  in  thy  mouth  as  fire.  See,  I  have  set  thee  this  day  over 
the  nations,  and  over  the  kingdoms,  to  root  out  and  to  pull 
down,  and  to  destroy,  and  to  throw  down,  and  to  build  and 
to  plant."  ^  For  we  need  words  now  which  will  root  out  of 
every  wounded  soul  the  reproaches  uttered  against  the  truth  by 
this  treatise  of  Celsus,  or  which  proceed  from  opinions  like  his. 
And  we  need  also  thoughts  which  will  pull  down  all  edifices 
based  on  false  opinions,  and  especially  the  edifice  raised  by 
Celsus  in  his  work,  which  resembles  the  building  of  those  who 
said,  "  Come,  let  us  build  us  a  city,  and  a  tower  whose  top  shall 
reach  to  heaven." "  Yea,  we  even  require  a  wisdom  which 
will  throw  down  all  high  things  that  rise  against  the  knowledge 
of  God,^  and  especially  that  height  of  arrogance  which  Celsus 
displays  against  us.  And  in  the  next  place,  as  we  must  not  stop 
with  rooting  out  and  pulling  down  the  hindrances  which  have 
just  been  mentioned,  but  must,  in  room  of  what  has  been  rooted 
out,  plant  the  plants  of  "  God's  husbandry  ;"  *  and  in  place  of 
what  has  been  pulled  down,  rear  up  the  building  of  God,  and  the 
temple  of  His  glory, — we  must  for  that  reason  pray  also  to  the 
Lord,  who  bestowed  the  gifts  named  in  the  book  of  Jeremiah, 
thatjie  may  grairLeven  to  us  words  adapted  both  for  building 
up  the  [temple]  of  Christ,  and  for  planting  the  spiritual  law, 

1  Cf.  Jer.  i.  9,  10.  2  cf.  Gen.  xi.  4. 

3  Cf.  2  Cor.  X.  5.  •*  Cf.  1  Cor.  iii.  9. 

OEIG. — VOL.  II.  L 


162  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

and  the  prophetic  words  referring  to  the  same.^  And  above 
all  is  it  necessary  to  show,  as  against  the  assertions  of  Celsus 
which  follow  those  he  has  already  made,  that  the  prophecies 
regarding  Christ  are  true  predictions.  For,  arraying  himself 
at  the  same  time  against  both  parties — against  the  Jews  on  the 
one  hand,  who  deny  that  the  advent  of  Christ  has  taken  place, 
but  who  expect  it  as  future,  and  against  Christians  on  the 
other,  who  acknowledge  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  spoken  of  in 
prophecy — he  makes  the  following  statement : — 

Chapter  ii. 

"  But  that  certain  Christians  and  [all]  Jews  should  main- 
tain, the  former  that  there  lias  already  descended,  the  latter 
that  there  loill  descend,  upon  the  earth  a  certain  God,  or 
Son  of  a  God,  who  will  make  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth 
righteous,"  is  a  most  shameless  assertion,  and  one  the  refuta- 
tion of  which  does  not  need  many  words."  Now  here  he 
appears  to  pronounce  correctly  regarding  not  ''  certain"  of  the 
f  Jews,  but  all  of  them,  that  they  imagine  that  there  is  a  certain 
[God]  who  will  descend  upon  the  earth ;  and  wdth  regard  to 
Christians,  that  certain  of  them  say  that  he  has  already  come 
down.  For  he  means  those  who  prove  from  the  Jewish  Scrip- 
tures that  the  advent  of  Christ  has  already  taken  place,  and 
'  he  seems  to  know  that  there  are  certain  heretical  sects  which 
'  deny  that  Christ  Jesus  was  predicted  by  the  prophets.  In  the 
preceding  pages,  however,  we  have  already  discussed,  to  the_^ 
best  of  our  ability,  the  question  of  Christ  having  been  the  sub- 
ject of  prophecy,  and  therefore,  to  avoid  tautology,  we  do  not 
repeat  much  that  might  be  advanced  upon  this  head.  Observe, 
now,  that  if  he  had  wished  with  a  kind  of  apparent  force  ^  to 
subvert  faith  in  the  prophetic  writings,  either  with  regard  to 
the  future  or  past  advent  of  Christ,  he  ought  to  have  set  forth 
the  prophecies  themselves  which  we  Christians  and  Jews  quote 
in  our  discussions  with  each  other.  For  in  this  way  he  would 
have  appeared  to  turn  aside  those  who  are  carried  away  by  the 
plausible  character  *  of  the  prophetic  statements,  as  he  regards 
it,  from  assenting  to  their  truth,  and  from  believing,  on  account 


Book  iv.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  163 

of  these  prophecies,  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ;  whereas  now, 
being  unable  to  answer  the  prophecies  relating  to  Christ,  or  else 
not  knowing  at  all  what  are  the  prophecies  relating  to  Him, 
he  brings  forward  no  prophetic  declaration,  although  there  are 
countless  numbers  which  refer  to  Christ;  but  he  thinks  that  he 
prefers  an  accusation  against  the  prophetic  Scriptures,  while  he 
does  not  even  state  what  he  himself  w^ould  call  their  "  plausible 
character!"  He  is  not,  however,  aware  that  it  is  not  at  all  the  ,/ 
Jews  who  say  that  Christ  will  descend  as  a  God,  or  the  Son  of 
a  God,  as  we  have  shown  in  the  foregoing  pages.  And  when 
he  asserts  that  "  he  is  said  by  us  to  have  already  come,  but  by 
the  Jews  that  his  advent  as  Messiah  ^  is  still  future,"  he  appears 
by  the  very  charge  to  censure  our  statement  as  one  that  is  most 
shameless,  and  which  needs  no  lengthened  refutation. 

Chapter  hi. 

And  he  continues  :  "  What  is  the  meaning  of  such  a  descent 
upon  the  part  of  God  ? "  not  observing  that,  according  to  our 
teaching,  the  meaning  of  the  descent  is  pre-eminently  to  con- 
I  vert  what  are  called  in  the  Gospel  the  lost  "  sheep  of  the  house 
'of  Israel;"  and  secondly,  to  take  away  from  them,  on  account 
of  their  disobedience,  what  is  called  the  "  kingdom  of  God," 
and  to  give  to  other  husbandmen  than  the  ancient  Jews,  viz. 
to  the  Christians,  who  will  render  to  God  the  fruits  of  His 
kingdom  in  due  season  (each  action  being  a  "  fruit  of  the 
kingdom").^  We  shall  therefore,  out  of  a  greater  number, 
select  a  few  remarks  by  way  of  answer  to  the  question  of 
Celsus,  when  he  says,  "  What  is  the  meaning  of  such  a  descent 
upon  the  part  of  God  ?  "  And  Celsus  here  returns  to  himself 
an  answer  which  would  have  been  given  neither  by  Jews  nor 
by  us,  when  he  asks,  "  Was  it  in  order  to  learn  what  goes  on 
amongst  men  ?  "  For  not  one  of  us  asserts  that  it  was  in  order 
to  learn  what  goes  on  amongst  men  that  Christ  entered  into 
this  life.  Immediately  after,  however,  as  if  some  would  reply 
that  it  icas  "  in  order  to  learn  what  goes  on  among  men,"  he 
makes  this  objection  to  his  own  statement :  '•  Does  he  not  know 

■^  AiKociarr,:,  not  AiKdar'/jg. 


X 


16 i  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Booe  iv. 

all  things?"  Then,  as  if  we  were  to  answer  that  He  does 
know  all  things,  he  raises  a  new  question,  saying,  "  Then  he 
does  know,  but  does  not  make  [men]  better,  nor  is  it  possible 
for  him  by  means  of  his  divine  power  to  make  [men]  better." 
Now  all  this  on  his  part  is  silly  talk;^  for  God,  by  means 
of  His  word,  which  is  continually  passing  from  generation  to 
generation  into  holy  souls,  and  constituting  them  friends  of 
God  and  prophets,  does  improve  those  who  listen  to  His  words  ; 
and  by  the  coming  of  Christ  He  improves,  through  the  doctrine 
of  Christianity,  not  those  who  are  unwilling,  but  those  who 
hayejchosen  the  better  life,  and  that  which  is  pleasing  to  God. 
I  do  not  know,  moreover,  what  kind  of  improvement  Celsus 
wished  to  take  place  when  he  raised  the  objection,  asking,  "  Is 
it  then  not  possible  for  him,  by  means  of  his  divine  power, 
to  make  [men]  better,  unless  he  send  some  one  for  that  special 
purpose?""  Would  he  then  have  the  improvement  to  take 
place  by  God's  filling  the  minds  of  men  with  new  ideas, 
removing  at  once  the  [inherent]  wickedness,  and  implanting 
virtue  [in  its  stead]  ?  ^  Another  person  now  would  inquire 
whether  this  was  not  inconsistent  or  impossible  in  the  very 
nature  of  things ;  we,  however,  would  say,  "  Grant  it  to  be  so, 
and  let  it  be  possible."  Where,  then,  is  our  free  jvvill.?*  and 
what  credit  is  there  in  assenting  to  the  truth  ?  or  how  is  the 
rejection  of  what  is  false  praiseworthy  ?  But  even  if  it  were 
once  granted  that  such  a  course  was  not  only  possible,  but 
could  be  accomplished  with  propriety  [by  God],  why  would  not 
one  rather  inquire  (asking  a  question  like  that  of  Celsus)  why 
it  was  not  possible  for  God,  by  means  of  His  divine  power,  to 
create  men  who  needed  no  imn'"ovement,  but  who  were  of 
themselves  virtuous  and  perfect,  evil  being  altogether  non- 
existent? These  questions  may  perplex  ignorant  and  foolish 
individuals,  but  not  him  who  sees  into  the  nature  of  things ; 

-  The  word  (pvau  which  is  found  in  the  text  seems  out  of  place,  and 
has  been  omitted  in  the  translation,  agreeably  to  the  emendation  of 
Bohcrcllus. 

®  ^Kpu,  yxp  '}i6ihi  (pavrciaiovfcivoi;  to?j  cci/dpu':roi;  v-ttq  Gsow,  «xs/?i)5!?!iT0f  ^lu 
eiSpoug  T'/iv  x.cik1oi,v,  f^tpt/oj/TOf  Be  t'/J»  uoiTV^v^  rv}v  iTTUvooSuaiv  yevtadai ; 


Book  iv.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  165 

for  if  you  take  away  the  ^gntaneity  of  virtue^ou_destroy  its 
essence.  But  it  would  need  an  entire  treatise  to  discuss  tTiese 
matters  ;  and  on  this  subject  the  Greeks  have  expressed  tliem- 
selves  at  great  length  in  their  works  on  providence.  They 
truly  would  not  say  what  Celsus  has  expressed  in  words,  that 
"  God  knows  [all  things]  indeed,  but  does  not  make  [men] 
better,  nor  is  able  to  do  so  by  His  divine  power."  We  our- 
selves have  spoken  in  many  parts  of  our  writings  on  these 
points  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  and  the  Holy  Scriptures  have 
established  the  same  to  those  who  are  able  to  understand  them. 

Chapter  iv. 

The  argument  which  Celsus  employs  against  us  and  the 
Jews  will  be  turned  against  himself  thus :  My  good  sir,  does 
the  God  who  is  over  all  things  know  what  takes  place  among 
men,  or  does  He  not  know?  Now  if  you  admit  the  existence 
of  a  God  and  of  providence,  as  your  treatise  indicates,  He  must 
of  necessity  know.  And  if  He  does  know,  why  does  He  not 
make  [men]  better  ?  Is  it  obligatory,  then,  on  us  to  defend 
God's  procedure  in  not  making  men  better,  although  He  knows 
their  state,  but  not  equally  binding  on  t/om,  who  do  not  dis- 
tinctly show  by  your  treatise  that  you  are  an  Epicurean,  but 
pretend  to  recognise  a  providence,  to  explain  why  God, 
although  knowing  all  that  takes  place  among  men,  does  not 
make  them  better,  nor  by  divine  power  liberate  all  men  from 
evil  ?  We  are  not  ashamed,  however,  to  say  that  God  is  con- 
stantly sending  [instructors]  in  order  to  make  men  better ;  for 
there  are  to  be  found  amongst  men  reasons^  given  by  God 
which  exhort  them  to  enter  on  a  better  life.  But  there  are 
many  diversities  amongst  those  who  serve  God,  and  they  are 
few  in  number  who  are  perfect  and  pure  ambassadors  of  the 
truth,  and  who  produce  a  complete  reformation,  as  did  Closes 
and  the  prophets.  But  above  all  these,  great  was  the  reforma- 
tion effected  by  Jesus,  who  desired  to  heal  not  only  those  who 
lived  in  one  corner  of  the  world,  but  as  far  as  in  Him  lay,  men 
in  every  country,  for  He  came  as  the  Saviour  of  all  men. 

iv  dudpu-Qii. 


166  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

Chapter  v. 

The  illustrious^  Celsus,  taking  occasion  I  know  not  from 
what,  next  raises  an  additional  objection  against  us,  as  if  we 
asserted  that  "  God  Himself  will  come  down  to  men."  He 
imagines  also  that  it  follows  from  this,  that  "  He  has  left  His 
own  abode  ;"  for  he  does  not  know  the  power  of  God,  and  that 
"the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  filleth  the  world,  and  that  which 
upholdeth  all  things  hath  knowledge  of  the  voice."  ^  Nor  is 
he  able  to  understand  the  words,  "  Do  I  not  fill  heaven  and 
earth  ?  saith  the  Lord."  ^  Nor  does  he  see  that,  according  to 
the  doctrine  of  Christianity,  we  all  "  in  Him  live,  and  move, 
and  have  our  being,"  "^  as  Paul  also  taught  in  his  address  to  the 
Athenians ;  and  therefore,  although  the  God  of  the  universe 
should  through  His  own  power  descend  with  Jesus  into  the  life 
of  men,  and  although  the  Word  which  was  in  the  beginning 
with  God,  which  is  also  God  Himself,  should  come  to  us,  He 
does  not  give  His  place  or  vacate  His  own  seat,  so  that  one 
place  should  be  empty  of  Him,  and  another  which  did  not 
formerly  contain  Him  be  filled.  But  the  power  and  divinity 
of  God  comes  through  him  whom  God  chooses,  and  resides 
in  him  in  whom  it  finds  a  place,  not  changing  its  situation,  nor 
leaving  its  own  place  empty  and  filling  another  :  for,  in  speak- 
ing of  His  quitting  one  place  and  occupying  another,  we  do 
not  mean  such  expressions  to  be  taken  topically ;  but  we  say 
that  the  soul  of  the  bad  man,  and  of  him  who  is  over- 
whelmed in  wickedness,  is  abandoned  by  God,  while  we  mean 
that  the  soul  of  him  who  wishes  to  live  virtuously,  or  of  him 
who  is  making  progress  [in  a  virtuous  life],  or  who  is  already 
living  conformably  thereto,  is  filled  with  or  becomes  a  partaker 
of  the  Divine  Spirit.  It  is  not  necessary,  then,  for  the  descent 
of  Christ,  or  for  the  coming  of  God  to  men,  that  He  should 
abandon  a  greater  seat,  and  that  things  on  earth  should  be 
changed,  as  Celsus  imagines  when  he  says,  "  If  you  were  to 
change  a  single  one,  even  the  least,  of  things  on  earth,  all 
things  would  be  overturned  and  disappear."     And  if  we  must 

^  yii/vuioToirog. 

^  Wisd.  Solom.  i.  7,  ku\  to  avvixov  tx  'jvuvto.  yvuatv  'ixst  (puvvjs. 

3  Cf.  Jer.  xxiii.  24.  *  Cf.  Acts  xvii.  28. 


Book  iv.]  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  167 

speak  of  a  change  in  any  one  by  the  appearing  of  the  power  of 
God,  and  by  the  entrance  of  the  word  among  men,  we  shall 
not  be  reluctant  to  speak  of  changing  from  a  wicked  to  a 
virtuous,  from  a  dissolute  to  a  temperate,  and  from  a  super- 
stitious to  a  religious  life,  the  person  who  has  allowed  the  word 
of  God  to  find  entrance  into  his  soul. 

Chapter  vi. 

But  if  you  will  have  us  to  meet  the  most  ridiculous  among 
the  charges  of  Celsus,  listen  to  him  when  he  says :  "  Now  God, 
being  unknown  amongst  men,  and  deeming  himself  on  that 
account  to  have  less  than  his  due,^  would  desire  to  make  him- 
self known,  and  to  make  trial  both  of  those  who  believe  upon 
him  and  of  those  who  do  not,  like  those  of  mankind  who  have 
recently  come  into  the  possession  of  riches,  and  who  make  a 
display  of  their  wealth ;  and  thus  they  testify  to  an  excessive 
but  very  mortal  ambition  on  the  part  of  God." "  We  answer, 
then,  that  God,  not  being  known  by  wicked  men,  would  desire 

I  to  make  Himself  known,  not  because  He  thinks  that  He  meets 
with  less  than  His  due,  but  because  the  knowledge  of  Him 
will  free  the  possessor  from  unhappiness.     Nay,  not  even  with 
the  desire  to  try  those  who  do  or  who  do  not  believe  upon  Him, 
does  He,  by  His  unspeakable  and  divine  power.  Himself  take 
up  His  abode  in  certain  individuals,  or  send  His  Christ ;  but  He 
does  this  in  order  to  liberate  from  all  their  wretchedness  those 
who  do  believe  upon  Him,  and  who  accept  His  divinity,  and 
that  those  who  do  not  believe  may  no  longer  have  this  as  a 
ground  of  excuse,  viz.  that  their  unbelief  is  the  consequence 
of  their  not  having  heard  the  word  of  instruction.    What  argu- 
ment, then,  proves  that  it  follows  from  our  views  that  God, 
according  to  our  representations,  is  "  like  those  of  mankind  who 
have  recently  come  into  the  possession  of  riches,  and  who  make 
1  a  display  of  their  wealth  ?  "    For  God  makes  no  display  towards 
( us,  from  a  desire  that  we  should  understand  and  consider  His 
j  pre-eminence ;  but  desiring  that  the  blessedness  which  results 
I  from  His  being  known  by  us  should  be  implanted  in  our  souls, 

xct6x7rsp    oi   vio'Tr'KovTOi  rZ}ii   u,'j6pu7ruu    l-Trioif/.TioivTig,    irdKKviv  nva,   y.ccl 
votvv  dufiT'/jv  (pt'Koriy.iot.u  rov  ©eoD  KaruficcpTvpoiiai. 


168  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

He  brings  it  to  pass  through  Christ,  and  His  ever-indwelling 
word,  that  we  come  to  an  intimate  fellowship  ^  with  Him.  No 
mortal  ambition,  then,  does  the  Christian  doctrine  testify  as 
existing  on  the  part  of  God. 

Chapter  vii. 

I  do  not  know  how  it  is,  that  after  the  foolish  remarks  which 
he  has  made  upon  the  subject  which  we  have  just  been  discuss- 
ing, he  should  add  the  following,  that  "  God  does  not  desire  to 
make  himself  known  for  his  own  sake,  but  because  he  wishes 
to  bestow  upon  us  the  knowledge  of  himself  for  the  sake  of 
our  salvation,  in  order  that  those  who  accept  it  may  become 
virtuous  and  be  saved,  while  those  who  do  not  accept  may  be 
shown  to  be  wicked  and  be  punished."  And  yet,  after  making 
such  a  statement,  he  raises  a  new  objection,  saying :  "  After  so 
long  a  period  of  time,^  then,  did  God  now  bethink  himself 
of  making  men  live  righteous  lives,^  but  neglect  to  do  so  be- 
fore ?"  To  which  we  answer,  that  there  never  was  a  time  when 
God  did  not  wish  to  make  men  live  righteous  lives ;  but  He 
continually  evinced  His  care  for  the  improvement  of  the  rational 
animal,*  by  affording  him  occasions  for  the  exercise  of  virtue. 
I  For  in  every  generation  the  wisdom  of  God,  passing  into  those 
I  souls  which  it  ascertains  to  be  holy,  converts  them  into  friends 
and  prophets  of  God.  And  there  may  be  found  in  the  sacred 
books  [the  names  of]  those  who  in  each  generation  were  holy, 
and  were  recipients  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  and  who  strove  to 
convert  their  contemporaries  so  far  as  in  their  power. 

Chapter  viit. 

And  it  is  not  matter  of  surprise  that  in  certain  generations 
there  have  existed  prophets  who,  in  the  reception  of  divine 
influence,^  surpassed,  by  means  of  their  stronger  and  more 
powerful  [religious]  life,  other  prophets  who  were  their  contem- 
poraries, and  others  also  who  lived  before  and  after  them. 
And  so  it  is  not  at  all  wonderful  that  there  should  also  have 
been  a  time  when  something  of  surpassing  excellence"  took  up 

^  olKitautv.  ^  [^ird.  roaotJrov  uiuvx. 

^  QiKUiliaxt.  ■*  TO  'hoyiy.iv  ^io». 


Book  IV.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  1G9 

its  abode  among  the  human  race,  and  which  was  distinguislied 
.above  all  that  preceded  or  even  that  followed  it.  But  there  is 
,an  clement  of  profound  mystery  in  the  account  of  these  things, 
and  one  which  is  incapable  of  being  received  by  the  popular 
1  understanding.  And  in  order  that  these  difficulties  should  be 
made  to  disappear,  and  that  the  objections  raised  against  the 
advent  of  Christ  should  be  answered — viz.  that,  "  after  so  long 
a  period  of  time,  then,  did  God  now  bethink  himself  of  making 
men  live  righteous  lives,  but  neglect  to  do  so  before  ?  " — it  is 
necessary  to  touch  upon  the  narrative  of  the  divisions  [of  the 
nations],  and  to  make  it  evident  why  it  was,  that  "  when  the 
Most  High  divided  the  nations,  when  He  separated  the  sons 
of  Adam,  He  set  the  bounds  of  the  nations  according  to  the 
number  of  the  angels  of  God,  and  the  portion  of  the  Lord  was 
His  people  Jacob,  Israel  the  cord  of  His  inheritance  ; "  ^  and  it 
will  be  necessary  to  state  the  reason  why  the  birth  of  each  man 
took  place  within  each  particular  boundary,  under  him  who 
obtained  the  boundary  by  lot,  and  how  it  rightly  happened  that 
"  the  portion  of  the  Lord  was  His  people  Jacob,  and  Israel 
the  cord  of  His  inheritance,"  and  why  formerly  the  portion  of 
the  Lord  was  His  people  Jacob,  and  Israel  the  cord  of  His 
inheritance.  But  with  respect  to  those  who  come  after,  it  is 
said  to  the  Saviour  by  the  Father,  "  Ask  of  me,  and  I  will  give 
Thee  the  heathen  for  Thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth  for  Thy  possession."  ^  For  there  are  certain 
connected  and  related  reasons,  bearing  upon  the  different 
treatment  of  human  souls,  which  are  difficult  to  state  and  to 
investigate.^ 

Chapter  ix. 

There  came,  then,  although  Celsus  may  not  wish  to  admit 
it,  after  the  numerous  prophets  who  were  the  reformers  of  that 
well-known  Israel,  the  Christ,  the  Keformer  of  the  whole  world, 
who  did  not  need  to  employ  against  men  whips,  and  chains, 
and  tortures,  as  was  the  case  under  the  former  economy.  For 
when  the  sower  went  forth  to  sow,  the  doctrine  sufficed  to  sow 

^  Deut.  xxxii.  8,  9  (according  to  the  LXX.)-  ^  Cf.  Ps.  ii.  8. 

8  E/ffj'  yxp  rii/is-stp/icol   kxI  dx.o'Kovdlut   oi0XTOi  x.ul   ccvsKhiijy/iTOi   vrspl  t'^? 
KCtTX  rec;  eii/dpuTrivx;  i2/V'^x;  'hixtoqov  oiKOVOUi'x;. 


170  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

the  word  everywhere.  But  if  there  is  a  tune  coming  which 
will  necessarily  circumscribe  the  duration  of  the  world,  by 
reason  of  its  having  had  a  beginning,  and  if  there  is  to  be  an 
end  to  the  world,  and  after  the  end  a  just  judgment  of  all 
things,  it  will  be  incumbent  on  him  who  treats  the  declarations 
of  the  Gospels  philosophically,  to  establish  these  doctrines  by 
arguments  of  all  kinds,  not  only  derived  directly  from  the 
sacred  Scriptures,  but  also  by  inferences  deducible  from  them ; 
'  while  the  more  numerous  and  simpler  class  of  believers,  and 
those  who  are  unable  to  comprehend  the  many  varied  aspects 
of  the  divine  wisdom,  must  entrust  themselves  to  God,  and 
to  the  Saviour  of  our  race,  and  be  contented  with  His  "  ipse 
dixit,"  ^  instead  of  this  or  any  other  demonstration  whatever. 

Chapter  x. 

In  the  next  place,  Celsus,  as  is  his  custom,  having  neither 
proved  nor  established  anything,  proceeds  to  say,  as  if  we  talked 
of  God  in  a  manner  that  was  neither  holy  nor  pious,  that  "  it 
is  perfectly  manifest  that  they  babble  about  God  in  a  way  that 
is  neither  holy  nor  reverential;"  and  he  imagines  that  we  do 
these  thino;s  to  excite  the  astonishment  of  the  ignorant,  and 
that  we  do  not  speak  the  truth  regarding  the  necessity  of 
punishments  for  those  who  have  sinned.  And  accordingly  he 
likens  us  to  those  who  "  in  the  Bacchic  mysteries  introduce 
phantoms  and  objects  of  terror."  With  respect  to  the  mys- 
teries of  Bacchus,  whether  there  is  any  reliable  account  of 
them,  or  none  that  is  such,  let  the  Greeks  tell,  and  let  Celsus 
and  his  boon-companions  ^  listen.  But  we  defend  our  own  pro- 
/  cedure,  when  we  say  that  our  object  is  to  reform  the  human 
I  race,  either  by  the  threats  of  punishments  which  we  are  per- 
I  suaded  are  necessary  for  the  whole  world,^  and  which  perhaps 
I  are  not  without  use'*  to  those  who  are  to  endure  them;  or  by 
the  promises  made  to  those  who  have  lived  virtuous  lives,  and 
in  which  are  contained  the  statements  regarding  the  blessed 
termination  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  kingdom  of  God, 
reserved  for  those  who  are  worthy  of  becoming  His  subjects. 

^  uiirlg  i(pix..  ^  (jvu6ix(iojtui.  *  ru  -ttuvti. 

*  ovK  dxpyjarov;.    On  Origen's  views  resiaecting  rewards  and  punishments, 
cf.  Huet's  Origeniana,  Book  ii.  question  xi. 


Book  IV.]  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  171 


Chapter  xi. 

After  this,  being  desirous  to  show  that  it  is  nothing  either 
wonderful  or  new  ^Yhich  we  state  regarding  floods  or  conflagra- 
tions, but  that,  from  misunderstanding  the  accounts  of  these 
things  which  are  current  among  Greeks  or  barbarous  nations, 
we  have  accorded  our  belief  to  our  own  Scriptures  when  treat- 
ing of  them,  he  writes  as  follows  :  "  The  belief  has  spread  among 
them,  from  a  misunderstanding  of  the  accounts  of  these 
occurrences,  that  after  lengthened  cycles  of  time,  and  the 
returns  and  conjunctions  of  planets,  conflagrations  and  floods 
are  wont  to  happen,  and  because  after  the  last  flood,  which 
took  place  in  the  time  of  Deucalion,  the  lapse  of  time,  agree- 
ably to  the  vicissitude  of  all  things,  requires  a  conflagration ; 
and  this  made  them  give  utterance  to  the  erroneous  opinion 
that  God  will  descend,  bringing  fire  like  a  torturer."  Now 
in  answer  to  this  we  say,  that  I  do  not  understand  how  Celsus, 
who  has  read  a  great  deal,  and  who  shows  that  he  has  per- 
used many  histories,  had  not  his  attention  arrested^  by  the 
antiquity  of  Moses,  who  is  related  by  certain  Greek  historians 
to  have  lived  about  the  time  of  Inachus  the  son  of  Phoroneus, 
and  is  acknowledged  by  tho  Egyptians  to  be  a  man  of  great 
antiquity,  as  well  as  by  those  who  have  studied  the  history  of 
the  Phoenicians.  And  any  one  who  likes  may  peruse  the  two 
books  of  Flavins  Josephus  on  the  antiquities  of  the  Jews,  in 
order  that  he  may  see  in  what  way  Moses  was  more  ancient 
than  those  who  asserted  that  floods  and  conflagrations  take  place 
in  the  world  after  long  intervals  of  time ;  which  statement 
Celsus  alleges  the  Jews  and  Christians  to  have  misunderstood, 
and,  not  comprehending  what  was  said  about  a  conflagration, 
to  have  declared  that  "  God  will  descend,  bringing  fire  like  a 
torturer."  ^ 

Chapter  xii. 

Whether,  then,  there  are  cycles  of  time,  and  floods,  or  con- 
flagrations which  occur  periodically  or  not,  and  whether  the 
Scripture  is  aware  of  this,  not  only  in  many  passages,  but 
especially  where   Solomon  says,    "  What  is  the  thing  whicli 

•^  ovx,  I'TTitTTn.  "  oiK-A'j  (ixdccutarov  Tvp  (Lipaif. 


172  OrJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

hath  been?  Even  that  ^Yhich  shall  be.  And  what  is  the  thini^ 
which  hath  been  done  ?  Even  that  which  shall  be  done,"  ^ 
etc.  etc.,  belongs  not  to  the  present  occasion  to  discuss.  For 
it  is  sufficient  only  to  observe,  that  Moses  and  certain  of  the 
prophets,  being  men  of  very  great  antiquity,  did  not  receive 
from  others  the  statements  relating  to  the  [future]  conflagra- 
tion of  the  world ;  but,  on  the  contrary  (if  we  must  attend  to 
the  matter  of  time"),  others  rather  misunderstanding  them,  and 
not  inquiring  accurately  into  their  statements,  invented  the 
fiction  of  the  same  events  recurring  at  certain  intervals,  and 
differing  neither  in  their  essential  nor  accidental  qualities.^ 
But  we  do  not  refer  either  the  deluge  or  the  conflagration  to 
cycles  and  planetary  periods ;  but  the  cause  of  them  we  declare 
to  be  the  extensive  prevalence  of  wickedness,^  and  its  [consequent] 
removal  by  a  deluge  or  a  conflagration.  And  if  the  voices  of  the 
prophets  say  that  God  "  comes  down,"  who  has  said,  "  Do  I  not 
fill  heaven  and  earth  ?  saith  the  Lord,"  ^  the  term  is  used  in  a 
figurative  sense.  For  God  "  comes  down"  from  His  own  height 
and  greatness  when  He  arranges  the  affairs  of  men,  and  espe- 
cially those  of  the  wicked.  And  as  custom  leads  men  to  say 
that  teachers  "  condescend"  ^  to  children,  and  wise  men  to  those 
youths  who  have  just  betaken  themselves  to  philosophy,  not  by 
*'  descending"  in  a  bodily  manner;  so,  if  God  is  said  anywhere 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures  to  "  come  down,"  it  is  understood  as 
spoken  in  conformity  with  the  usage  which  so  employs  the 
word,  and  in  like  manner  also  with  the  expression  "go  up." 

Chapter  xiii.  ' 

But  as  it  is  in  mockery  that  Cel?ns  says  we  speak  of  "God 
coming  down  like  a  torturer  bearing  fire,"  and  thus  compels  us 
unseasonably  to  investigate  words  of  deeper  meaning,  we  shall 
make  a  few  remarks,  sufficient  to  enable  our  hearers  to  form  an 
idea^  of  the  defence  which  disposes  of  the  ridicule  of  Celsus 
against  us,  and  then  we  shall  turn  to  what  follows.    The  divine 

^  Cf.  Eccles.  i.  9.  "  s/  XP'^  iizia'zviaoi.vzu,  ro7;  p^^oVo/j  tiTrih. 

®  d.vi'Tr'huaoiu  x«t«  -TreptoOov;  TUVTorri-a;,  K»'t  uTrxpiic'h'Kxx.TOVs  Toig  idioti 
WO/OK  Kctl  ToTf  avf<./ii/3yiy.c<7iv  cti/roig. 

*  x.ct7<.ict.v  iTTi  ttmIov  X'Of^ii'yii'-  ^  Cf.  Jer.  xiii.  24. 

°  av'/x,xrci(icitviiv.  ^  yti/sui. 


BooKiv.l  OlilGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  173 

word  says  that  our  God  is  "  a  consuming  fire,"  ^  and  that  "  He 
draws  rivers  of  fire  before  Him ;" "  nay,  that  He  even  entereth 
in  as  *'  a  refiner's  fire,  and  as  a  fuller's  herb,"  ^  to  purify  His 
own  people.  But  when  He  is  said  to  be  a  "  consuming  fire,"  we 
inquire  what  are  the  things  which  are  appropriate  to  be  con- 
sumed by  God.  And  we  assert  that  they  are  wickedness,  and 
the  works  which  result  from  it,  and  which,  being  figuratively 
called  "  wood,  hay,  stubble,"  *  God  consumes  as  a  fire.  The 
wicked  man,  accordingly,  is  said  to  build  up  on  the  previously- 
laid  foundation  of  reason,  "  wood,  and  hay,  and  stubble."  If, 
then,  any  one  can  show  that  these  words  were  differently  under- 
stood by  the  wi'iter,  and  can  prove  that  the  wicked  man  literally'' 
builds  up  "  wood,  or  hay,  or  stubble,"  it  is  evident  that  the  fire 
must  be  understood  to  be  material,  and  an  object  of  sense.  But 
if,  on  the  contrary,  the  works  of  the  wicked  man  are  spoken  of 
figuratively  under  the  names  of  "  wood,  or  hay,  or  stubble,"  why 
does  it  not  at  once  occur  [to  inquire]  in  what  sense  the  word 
"fire"  is  to  be  taken,  so  that  "-wood"  of  such  a  kind  should  be 
consumed?  for  [the  Scripture]  says:  "The  fire  will  try  each 
man's  work  of  what  sort  it  is.  If  any  man's  work  abide  which 
he  hath  built  thereupon,  he  shall  receive  a  reward.  If  any 
man's  work  be  burned,  he  shall  suffer  loss."  ^  But  what  work 
can  be  spoken  of  in  these  words  as  being  "burned,"  save  all 
that  results  from  wickedness  ?  Therefore  our  God  is  a  "  con- 
suming fire  "  in  the  sense  in  which  we  have  taken  the  word ; 
and  thus  He  enters  in  as  a  "  refiner's  fire,"  to  refine  the 
rational  nature,  which  has  been  filled  with  the  lead  of  wicked- 
ness, and  to  free  it  from  the  other  impure  materials,  which 
adulterate  the  natural  gold  or  silver,  so  to  speak,  of  the  soul." 
And,  in  like  manner,  "rivers  of  fire"  are  said  to  be  before 
God,  who  will  thoroughly  cleanse  away  the  evil  which  is  inter- 
mingled throughout  the  whole  soul.  But  these  remarks  are 
'  sufficient  in  answer  to  the  assertion,  "  that  thus  they  were  made 
to  give  expression  to  the  erroneous  opinion  that  God  will  come 
down  bearing  fire  like  a  torturer." 

i  Cf.  Dent,  iv.  24,  ix.  3.  2  cf.  Dan.  vii.  10.         ^  cf.  Mai.  iii.  2. 

4  Cf.  1  Cor.  iii.  12.  ^  „u,icciTiy.Zig.                 «  Cf.  1  Cor.  iii.  13-15. 

'  TSjw   rov   x,pvaoi>  {iv    ovrco;  cvoy^xau^,    Cpvatv   r^j  i^v^r,;^  ij  rs;:/    dpyvpov^ 
"hohCfiaavTuv. 


174  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  i v. 

Chapter  xiv. 

But  let  us  look  at  -svliat  Celsus  next  with  great  ostentation 
announces  in  the  following  fashion  :  "  And  again,"  he  says, 
*^let  us  resume  the  subject  from  the  beginning,  with  a  larger 
array  of  proofs.  And  I  make  no  new  statement,  but  say  what 
has  been  long  settled.  God  is  good,  and  beautiful,  and  blessed, 
and  that  in  the  best  and  most  beautiful  degree.-^  But  if  he 
come  down  among  men,  he  must  undergo  a  change,  and  a 
change  from  good  to  evil,  from  virtue  to  vice,  from  happiness 
to  misery,  and  from  best  to  worst.  Who,  then,  would  make 
choice  of  such  a  change  ?  It  is  the  nature  of  a  mortal,  indeed, 
to  undergo  change  and  remoulding,  but  of  an  immortal  to  re- 
main the  same  and  unaltered.  God,  then,  could  not  admit  of 
such  a  change."  Now  it  appears  to  me  that  the  fitting  answer 
has  been  returned  to  these  objections,  w^hen  I  have  related 
what  is  called  in  Scripture  the  "condescension"^  of  God  to 
human  affairs ;  for  which  purpose  He  did  not  need  to  undergo  a 
transformation,  as  Celsus  thinks  we  assert,  nor  a  change  from 
good  to  evil,  nor  from  virtue  to  vice,  nor  from  happiness  to 
misery,  nor  from  best  to  worst.  For,  continuing  unchangeable  in 
His  essence,  He  condescends  to  human  affairs  by  the  economy 
of  His  providence.^  We  show,  accordingl}^,  that  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures represent  God  as  unchangeable,  both  by  such  words  as 
"  Thou  art  the  same,"  *  and  "  I  change  not ; "  ^  whereas  the 
gods  of  Epicurus,  being  composed  of  atoms,  and,  so  far  as 
their  structure  is  concerned,  capable  of  dissolution,  endeavour  to 
throw  off  the  atoms  which  contain  the  elements  of  destruction. 
Nay,  even  the  god  of  the  Stoics,  as  being  corporeal,  at  one 
time  has  his  whole  essence  composed  of  the  guiding  principle  ^ 
when  the  conflagration  [of  the  world]  takes  place ;  and  at 
another,  when  a  rearrangement  of  things  occurs,  he  again  be- 
comes partly  material.^     For  even  the  Stoics  were  unable  dis- 

^  O  Qio;  dyciSoi  esrt,  x-ctl  ;c«AoV,  xai  ei/oxi\uco!/,  x,xl  lu  ru  x,<x,Khiara)  x,xl 
dp  tar  CO. 

^  KurafiKaiv.  ^  rri  "Trcovoicc  Kctl  'rvi  Ci%,ovo^icc.  *  Ps.  cii.  27. 

*  Mai.  iii.  G.  ^  'hyiy-oviKou. 

^  The  reading  in  the  text  is,  277*  fcspov;  yhiTxi  ctlrvn,  which  is  thus  cor- 
rected by  Quietus:  iTn/^epr,;  ytvirxt  xiiri;. 


Book  iv.]  OPdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  175 

tinctly  to  comprehend  the  natural  idea  of  God,  as  of  a  being 
altogether  incorruptible  and  simple,  and  uncompounded  and 
indivisible. 

Chapter  xv. 

And  with  respect  to  His  having  descended  among  men,  He 
was  ''  previously  in  the  form  of  God  ; "  ^  and  through  bene- 
volence, divested  Himself  [of  His  glory],  that  He  might  be 
capable  of  being  received  by  men.  But  He  did  not,  I  imagine, 
undergo  any  change  from  "  good  to  evil,"  for  "  He  did  no 
sin ; "  ^  nor  from  "  virtue  to  vice,"  for  "  He  knew  no  sin."  ^ 
Nor  did  He  pass  from  "  happiness  to  misery,"  but  He  humbled 
Himself,  and  nevertheless  was  blessed,  even  when  His  humilia- 
tion was  undergone  in  order  to  benefit  our  race.  Nor  was  there 
any  change  in  Him  from  "  best  to  worst,"  for  how  can  good- 
ness and  benevolence  be  of  "  the  worst  ?  "  Is  it  befitting  to 
say  of  the  physician,  who  looks  on  dreadful  sights  and  handles 
unsightly  objects  in  order  to  cure  the  sufferers,  that  he  passes 
from  "good  to  evil,"  or  from  "  virtue  to  vice,"  or  from  "hap- 
piness to  misery  ? "  And  yet  the  physician,  in  looking  on 
dreadful  sights  and  handling  unsightly  objects,  does  not  wholly 
escape  the  possibility  of  being  involved  in  the  same  fate.  But 
He  who  heals  the  wounds  of  our  souls,  through  the  word  of 
God  that  is  in  Him,  is  Himself  incapable  of  admitting  any 
wickedness.  But  if  the  immortal  God — the  Word — by  assuming 
a  mortal  body  and  a  human  soul,  appears  to  Celsus  to  undergo 
a  change  and  transformation,  let  him  learn  that  the  Word,  still 
remaining  essentially  the  Word,  suffers  none  of  those  things 
which  are  suffered  by  the  body  or  the  soul ;  but,  condescending 
occasionally  to  [the  weakness  of]  him  who  is  unable  to  look 
upon  the  splendours  and  brilliancy  of  Deity,  He  becomes  as 
it  were  flesh,  speaking  with  a  literal  voice,  until  he  who  has 
received  Him  in  such  a  form  is  able,  through  being  elevated  in 
some  slight  degree  by  the  teaching  of  the  Word,  to  gaze  upon 
what  is,  so  to  speak,  His  real  and  pre-eminent  appearance.* 
1  Cf.  Phil.  ii.  6,  7.  2  cf.  1  Pet.  ii.  22. 

^  Cf.  2  Cor.  V.  21.  *  'Tsrpoyiyovfiivnu, 


176  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 


Chapter  xvi. 

For  there  are  different  appearances,  as  it  were,  of  the  Word, 
according  as  He  shows  Himself  to  each  one  of  those  who  come 
to  His  doctrine ;  and  this  in  a  manner  corresponding  to  the 
condition  of  him  who  is  just  becoming  a  disciple,  or  of  him 
who  has  made  a  little  progress,  or  of  him  who  has  advanced 
further,  or  of  him  who  has  already  nearly  attained  to  virtue,  or 
who  has  even  already  attained  it.  And  hence  it  is  not  the 
case,  as  Celsus  and  those  like  him  would  have  it,  that  our  God 
was  transformed,  and  ascending  the  lofty  mountain,  showed 
that  Plis  real  appearance  was  something  different,  and  far 
more  excellent  than  what  those  who  remained  below,  and  were 
unable  to  follow  Him  on  high,  beheld.  For  those  below  did 
not  possess  eyes  capable  of  seeing  the  transformation  of  the 
Word  into  His  glorious  and  more  divine  condition.  But  with 
difficulty  were  they  able  to  receive  Him  as  He  was ;  so  that  it 
might  be  said  of  Him  by  those  who  were  unable  to  behold  His 
more  excellent  nature :  "  We  saw  Him,  and  He  had  no  form 
nor  comeliness ;  but  His  form  was  mean,^  and  inferior  to  that 
of  the  sons  of  men."  "  And  let  these  remarks  be  an  answer 
to  the  suppositions  of  Celsus,  who  does  not  understand  the 
changes  or  transformations  of  Jesus,  as  related  in  the  histories, 
nor  His  mortal  and  immortal  nature. 

Chapter  xvii. 

But  will  not  those  narratives,  especially  when  they  are  under- 
stood in  their  proper  sense,  appear  far  more  worthy  of  respect 
than  the  story  that  Dionysus  was  deceived  by  the  Titans,  and 
expelled  from  the  throne  of  Jupiter,  and  torn  in  pieces  by  them, 
and  his  remains  being  afterwards  put  together  again,  he  re- 
turned as  it  were  once  more  to  life,  and  ascended  to  heaven  ? 
Or  are  the  Greeks  at  liberty  to  refer  such  stories  to  the  doctrine 
of  the  soul,  and  to  interpret  them  figuratively,  while  the  door 
of  a  consistent  explanation,  and  one  everywhere  in  accord  and 
harmony  with  the  writings  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  who  had  His 
abode  in  pure  souls,  is  closed  against  «s  ?  Celsus,  then,  is  alto- 
gether ignorant  of  the  purpose  of  our  writings,  and  it  is  there- 


Book  IV. j  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  177 

fore  upon  his  own  acceptation  of  them  that  he  casts  discredit, 
and  not  upon  their  real  meaning ;  whereas,  if  he  had  reflected 
on  what  is  appropriate^  to  a  soul  which  is  to  enjoy  an  everlasting 
life,  and  on  the  opinion  which  we  are  to  form  of  its  essence 
and  principles,  he  would  not  so  have  ridiculed  the  entrance 
of  the  immortal  into  a  mortal  body,  which  took  place  not 
according  to  the  metempsychosis  of  Plato,  but  agreeably  to 
another  and  higher  view  of  thino-s.  And  he  would  have  ob- 
served  one  "  descent,"  distinguished  by  its  great  benevolence, 
undertaken  to  convert  (as  the  Scripture  mystically  terms  them) 
the  "  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel,"  which  had  strayed  down 
from  the  mountains,  and  to  which  the  Shepherd  is  said  in 
certain  parables  to  have  gone  down,  leaving  on  the  mountains 
those  "which  had  not  strayed." 

Chapter  xviii. 

But  Celsus,  lingering  over  matters  Avhich  he  does  not  under- 
stand, leads  us  to  be  guilty  of  tautology,  as  we  do  not  wish 
even  in  appearance  to  leave  any  one  of  his  objections  unex- 
amined. He  proceeds,  accordingly,  as  follows :  "  God  either 
really  changes  himself,  as  these  assert,  into  a  mortal  body,  and 
the  impossibility  of  that  has  been  already  declared :  or  else  he 
does  not  undergo  a  change,  but  only  causes  the  beholders  to 
imagine  so,  and  thus  deceives  them,  and  is  guilty  of  falsehood. 
Now  deceit  and  falsehood  are  nothing  but  evils,  and  would  only 
be  employed  as  a  medicine,  either  in  the  case  of  sick  and  lunatic 
friends,  with  a  view  to  their  cure,  or  in  that  of  enemies  when 
one  is  taking  measures  to  escape  danger.  But  no  sick  man  or 
lunatic  is  a  friend  of  God,  nor  does  God  fear  any  one  to  such 
a  degree  as  to  shun  danger  by  leading  him  into  error."  Now 
the  answer  to  these  statements  might  have  respect  partly  to  the 
nature  of  the  Divine  Word,  who  is  God,  and  partly  to  the  soul 
of  Jesus.  As  respects  the  nature  of  the  Word,  in  the  same  way 
as  the  quality  of  the  food  changes  in  the  nurse  into  milk  with 
reference  to  the  nature  of  the  child,  or  is  arranged  by  the 
physician  with  a  view  to  the  good  of  his  health  in  the  case  of  a 
sick  man,  or  [is  specially]  prepared  for  a  stronger  man,  because 
he  possesses  greater  vigour,  so  does  God  appropriately  change, 

^  rl  ciKo'hovSii. 
OKIG. — VOL.  II.  M 


178  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

I  in  the  case  of  each  individual,  the  power  of  the  Word  to  which 
belongs  the  natural  property  of  nourishing  the  human  soul. 
And  to  one  is  given,  as  the  Scripture  terms  it,  "the  sincere 
milk  of  the  word ; "  and  to  another,  who  is  weaker,  as  it  were, 
"  herbs ; "  and  to  another  who  is  full-grown,  "  strong  meat." 
And  the  Word  does  not,  I  imagine,  prove  false  to  His  own 
nature,  in  contributing  nourishment  to  each  one,  according  as 
he  is  capable  of  receiving  Him.  Nor  does  He  mislead  or  prove 
false.  But  if  one  were  to  take  the  change  as  referring  to  the 
soul  of  Jesus  after  it  had  entered  a  body,  we  would  inquire  in 
Avhat  sense  the  term  "  change  "  is  used.  For  if  it  be  meant  to 
apply  to  its  essence,  such  a  supposition  is  inadmissible,  not  only 
in  relation  to  the  soul  of  Jesus,  but  also  to  the  rational  soul  of 
any  other  being.  And  if  it  be  alleged  that  it  suffers  anything 
from  the  body  when  united  with  it,  or  from  the  place  to  which 
it  has  come,  then  what  inconvenience^  can  happen  to  the  Word 
who,  in  great  benevolence,  brought  down  a  Saviour  to  the 
human  race  ? — seeing  none  of  those  who  formerly  professed  to 
effect  a  cure  could  accomplish  so  much  as  that  soul  showed  it 
could  do,  by  what  it  performed,  even  by  voluntarily  descending 
to  the  level  of  human  destinies  for  the  benefit  of  our  race. 
And  the  Divine  Word,  well  knowing  this,  speaks  to  that  effect 
in  many  passages  of  Scripture,  although  it  is  sufficient  at  pre- 
sent to  quote  one  testimony  of  Paul  to  the  following  effect : 
"  Let  this  mind  be  in  you  which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus ; 
who,  being  in  the  form  of  God,  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be 
equal  with  God,  but  made  Himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took 
upon  Him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the  likeness 
of  men ;  and  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  He  humbled 
Himself,  and  became  obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of 
the  cross.     Wherefore  God  also  hath  highly  exalted  Him,  and 


jj  2 


given  Him  a  name  which  is  above  every  name.' 

Chapter  xix. 

Others,  then,  may  concede  to  Celsus  that  God  does  not  un- 
dergo a  change,  but  leads  the  spectators  to  imagine  that  He 
does ;  whereas  we  who  are  persuaded  that  the  advent  of  Jesus 
among  men  was  no  mere  appearance,  but  a  real  manifestation, 

^  t/  oiroTTO'j.  ^  Phil.  ii.  5-9. 


Book  IV. J  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  179 

are  not  affected  by  this  charge  of  Celsus.  We  nevertlieless 
will  attempt  a  reply,  because  you  assert,  Celsus,  do  you  not, 
that  it  is  sometimes  allowable  to  employ  deceit  and  falsehood 
by  way,  as  it  Avere,  of  medicine  ?  ^  Where,  then,  is  the  ab- 
surdity, if  such  a  saving  result  were  to  be  accomplished, 
that  some  such  events  should  have  taken  place  ?  For  certain 
words,  when  savouring  of  falsehood,  produce  upon  such  cha- 
racters a  corrective  effect  (like  the  similar  declarations  of  phy- 
sicians to  their  patients),  rather  than  when  spoken  in  the  spirit 
of  truth.  This,  however,  must  be  our  defence  against  other 
opponents.  For  there  is  no  absurdity  in  Him  who  healed  sick 
friends,  healing  the  dear  human  race  by  means  of  such  reme- 
dies as  He  would  not  employ  preferentially,  but  only  according 
to  circumstances.^  The  human  race,  moreover,  when  in  a  state 
of  mental  alienation,  had  to  be  cured  by  methods  which  the 
Word  saw  would  aid  in  bringing  back  those  so  afflicted  to  a 
sound  state  of  mind.  But  Celsus  says  also,  that  "  one  acts 
thus  towards  enemies  when  taking  measures  to  escape  danger. 
But  God  does  not  fear  any  one,  so  as  to  escape  danger  by 
leading  into  error  those  who  conspire  against  him."  Now  it 
is  altogether  unnecessary  and  absurd  to  answer  a  charge  which 
is  advanced  by  no  one  against  our  Saviour.  And  we  have 
already  replied,  when  answering  other  charges,  to  the  state- 
ment that  "  no  one  who  is  either  in  a  state  of  sickness  or 
mental  alienation  is  a  friend  of  God."  For  the  answer  is,  that 
such  arrangements  have  been  made,  not  for  the  sake  of  those 
who,  being  already  friends,  afterwards  fell  sick  or  became 
afflicted  with  mental  disease,  but  in  order  that  those  who  were 
still  enemies  through  sickness  of  the  soul,  and  alienation  of  the 
natural  reason,  might  become  the  friends  of  God.  For  it  is 
distinctly  stated  that  Jesus  endured  all  things  on  behalf  of 
sinners,  that  He  might  free  them  from  sin,  and  convert  them 
to  righteousness. 

Chapter  xx. 
In  the  next  place,  as  he  represents  the  Jews  accounting  in 

0f4,as  8    uvo'Ko'/riaofiiSx^  on  ov  (pyj;^  a  KsXas,  ag  iv  (potpfiocKOv  fioip»  "ttots 
'  TrpoYiyovf/Jvu;,  «AX'  sk  'jriptarocatui. 


180  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

a  way  peculiar  to  themselves  for  tlielr  belief  that  the  advent  of 
Christ  among  them  is  still  in  the  future,  and  the  Christians  as 
maintaining  in  their  way  that  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  God 
into  the  life  of  men  has  already  taken  place,  let  us,  as  far  as 
we  can,  briefly  consider  these  points.  According  to  Celsus,  the 
Jews  say  that  '•  [human]  life,  being  filled  with  all  wickedness, 
needed  one  sent  from  God,  that  the  wicked  might  be  punished, 
and  all  things  purified  in  a  manner  analogous  to  the  first  deluge 
which  happened."  And  as  the  Christians  are  said  to  make 
statements  additional  to  this,  it  is  evident  that  he  alleges  that 
they  admit  these.  Now,  where  is  the  absurdity  in  the  coming 
of  one  who  is,  on  account  of  the  prevailing  flood  of  wickedness, 
to  purify  the  world,  and  to  treat  every  one  according  to  his 
deserts  ?  For  it  is  not  in  keeping  with  the  character  of  God 
that  the  diffusion  of  wickedness  should  not  cease,  and  all  things 
be  renewed.  The  Greeks,  moreover,  know  of  the  earth's  being 
purified  at  certain  times  by  a  deluge  or  a  fire,  as  Plato,  too, 
says  somewhere  to  this  effect :  "  And  when  the  gods  over- 
whelm the  earth,  purifying  it  with  water,  some  of  them  on  the 
mountains,"  ^  etc.  etc.  Must  it  be  said,  then,  that  if  the  Greeks 
make  such  assertions,  they  are  to  be  deemed  worthy  of  respect 
and  consideration,  but  that  if  we  too  maintain  certain  of  these 
views,  which  are  quoted  with  approval  by  the  Greeks,  they 
cease  to  be  honourable  ?  And  yet  they  who  care  to  attend  to 
the  connection  and  truth  of  all  our  records,  will  endeavour  to 
establish  not  only  the  antiquity  of  the  writers,  but  the  venerable 
nature  of  their  writings,  and  the  consistency  of  their  several  parts. 

Chapter  xxi. 

But  I  do  not  understand  hoM-  he  can  imagine  the  overturning 
of  the  tower  [of  Babel]  to  have  happened  with  a  similar  object 
to  that  of  the  deluge,  which  effected  a  purification  of  the  earth, 
according  to  the  accounts  both  of  Jews  and  Christians.  For, 
in  order  that  the  narrative  contained  in  Genesis  respecting  the 
tower  may  be  held  to  convey  no  secret  meaning,  but,  as  Celsus 
supposes,  may  be  taken  as  true  to  the  letter,^  the  event  does  not 
on  such  a  view  appear  to  have  taken  place  for  the  purpose  of 
purifying  the  earth ;  unless,  indeed,  he  imagines  that  the  so- 

^  Cf.  Plato  in  the  Timseus,  and  Book  iii.  de  lecjihis.  *  a»<fr,?. 


Book  iv.]  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  181 

called  confusion  of  tongues  is  such  a  purificatory  process.  But 
on  this  point,  he  who  has  the  opportunity  will  treat  more  season- 
ably when  his  object  is  to  show  not  only  what  is  the  meaning 
of  the  narrative  in  its  historical  connection,  but  what  meta-\)C 
phorical  meaning  may  be  deduced  from  it.^  Seeing  that  he 
imagines,  however,  that  Moses,  who  wrote  the  account  of  the 
tower,  and  the  confusion  of  tongues,  has  perverted  the  story  of 
the  sons  of  Aloeus,^  and  referred  it  to  the  tower,  we  must  remark 
that  I  do  not  think  any  one  prior  to  the  time  of  Homer  ^  has  "^ 
mentioned  the  sons  of  Aloeus,  while  I  am  persuaded  that  what  ' 
is  related  about  the  tower  has  been  recorded  by  Moses  as  being 
much  older  not  only  than  Homer,  but  even  than  the  invention 
of  letters  among  the  Greeks.  Who,  then,  are  the  perverters 
of  each  other's  narratives  ?  Whether  do  they  who  relate  the 
story  of  the  Aloadse  pervert  the  history  of  the  time,  or  he  who 
wrote  the  account  of  the  tower  and  the  confusion  of  tongues  the 
story  of  the  Aloadee  ?  Now  to  impartial  hearers  Moses  appears 
to  be  more  ancient  than  Homer.  The  destruction  by  fire, 
moreover,  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrha  on  account  of  their  sins, 
related  by  Moses  in  Genesis,  is  compared  by  Celsus  to  the  story 
of  Phaethon, — all  these  statements  of  his  resulting  from  one 
blunder,  viz.  his  not  attending  to  the  [greater]  antiquity  of 
Moses.  For  they  who  relate  the  story  of  Phaethon  seem  to  be 
younger  even  than  Homer,  who,  again,  is  much  younger  than 
Moses.  We  do  not  deny,  then,  that  the  purificatory  fire  and 
the  destruction  of  the  world  took  place  in  order  that  evil  might 
be  swept  away,  and  all  things  be  renewed ;  for  we  assert  that 
we  have  learned  these  things  from  the  sacred  books  of  the 
prophets.  But  since,  as  we  have  said  in  the  preceding  pages, 
the  prophets,  in  uttering  many  predictions  regarding  future 
events,  show  that  they  have  spoken  the  truth  concerning  many 
things  that  are  past,  and  thus  give  evidence  of  the  indwelling 
of  the  Divine  Spirit,  it  is  manifest  that,  with  respect  to  things 
still  future,  we  should  repose  faith  in  them,  or  rather  in  the 
Divine  Spirit  that  is  in  tliem. 

i^'!7CiV    TO     -TrpOXSlfiiyOV     7)    'TTapaLdT/^dtX.l     -/.Cll   TO,  T'/JJ  X5«Ta  TOV  TOTTOV    taTOpiU; 

rivoe,  'ix°'  ^i^yov,  x.xl  r»  t'^j  "Trepi  uvrov  avciyuy'/ic. 

2  Otus  and  Ephialtes.     Cf.  Smith's  Diet,  of  Myth,  and  Biog.  s.v. 

3  Cf.  Horn.  Odyss.  xi.  305. 


182  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 


Chapter  xxii. 

But,  according  to  Celsus,  "  the  Christians,  making  certain 
additional  statements  to  those  of  the  Je^YS,  assert  that  the  Son  of 
God  has  been  already  sent  on  account  of  the  sins  of  the  Jews ; 
and  that  the  Jews  having  chastised  Jesus,  and  given  him  gall  to 
drink,  have  brought  upon  themselves  the  divine  wrath."  And 
any  one  who  likes  may  convict  this  statement  of  falsehood,  if  it 
be  not  the  case  that  the  whole  Jewish  nation  was  overthrown 
within  one  single  generation  after  Jesus  had  undergone  these 
sufferings  at  their  hands.  For  forty  and  two  years,  I  think, 
after  the  date  of  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus,  did  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  take  place.  Now  it  has  never  been  recorded, 
since  the  Jewish  nation  began  to  exist,  that  they  have  been 
expelled  for  so  long  a  period  from  their  venerable  temple-wor- 
ship ^  and  service,  and  enslaved  by  more  powerful  nations ;  for 
if  at  any  time  they  appeared  to  be  abandoned  because  of  their 
sins,  they  were  notwithstanding  visited  [by  Godj,^  and  re- 
turned to  their  own  country,  and  recovered  their  possessions, 
and  performed  unhindered  the  observances  of  their  law.  One 
fact,  then,  which  proves  that  Jesus  was  something  divine  and 
sacred,^  is  this,  that  Jews  should  have  suffered  on  His  account 
now  for  a  lengthened  time  calamities  of  such  severity.  And  /' 
we  say  with  confidence  that  they  will  never  be  restored  to.lJi£ir. 
former  condition.'*  For  they  committed  a  crime  of  the  most 
unhallowed  kind,  in  conspiring  against  the  Saviour  of  the 
human  race  in  that  city  where  they  offered  up  to  God  a  wor- 
ship containing  the  symbols  of  mighty  mysteries.  It  accord- 
ingly behoved  that  city  where  Jesus  underwent  these  sufferings 
to  perish  utterly,  and  the  Jewish  nation  to  be  overthrown,  and 
the  invitation  to  happiness  offered  them  by  God  to  pass  to 
others, — the  Christians,  I  mean,  to  whom  has  come  the  doctrine 
of  a  pure  and  holy  worship,  and  who  have  obtained  new  laws, 
in  harmony  with  the  established  constitution  in  all  countries ;  ^ 
seeing   those  which   were  formerly  imposed,  as  on  a  single 

"  Qilov  Ti  y.a.\  Upov  ^^pr^fcx  yiyovivxi  -zo'j    Iricjouv. 
*  oyS'  dTroaxraaTccd/iaovrcti. 


Book  iv.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  183 

nation  which  was  ruled  by  princes  of  its  own  race  and  of  similar 
manners/  could  not  now  be  observed  in  all  their  entireness. 

Chapter  xxiii. 

In  the  next  place,  ridiculing  after  his  usual  style  the  race 
of  Jews  and  Christians,  he  compares  them  all  "  to  a  flight  of 
bats  or  to  a  swarm  of  ants  issuing  out  of  their  nest,  or  to  frogs 
holding  council  in  a  marsh,  or  to  worms  crawling  together  in 
the  corner  of  a  dunghill,  and  quarrelling  with  one  another  as 
to  which  of  them  were  the  greater  sinners,  and  asserting  that 
God  shows  and  announces  to  us  all  things  beforehand ;  and 
that,  abandoning  the  whole  world,  and  the  regions  of  heaven," 
and  this  great  earth,  he  becomes  a  citizen  ^  among  us  alone,  and 
to  us  alone  makes  his  intimations,  and  does  not  cease  sending 
and  inquiring,  in  what  way  we  may  be  associated  with  him  for 
ever."  And  in  his  fictitious  representation,  he  compares  us  to 
"worms  which  assert  that  there  is  a  God,  and  that  immediately 
after  him,  we  who  are  made  by  him  are  altogether  like  unto 
God,  and  that  all  things  have  been  made  subject  to  us, — earth, 
and  water,  and  air,  and  stars, — and  that  all  things  exist  for  our 
sake,  and  are  ordained  to  be  subject  to  us."  And,  according  to 
his  representation,  the  worms — that  is,  we  ourselves — say  that 
"  now,  since  certain  amongst  us  commit  sin,  God  will  come  or 
will  send  his  Son  to  consume  the  wicked  with  fire,  that  the 
rest  of  us  may  have  eternal  life  with  him."  And  to  all  this 
he  subjoins  the  remark,  that  "  such  wranglings  would  be  more 
endurable  amongst  worms  and  frogs  than  betwixt  Jews  and 
Christians." 

Chapter  xxiv. 

In  reply  to  these,  we  ask  of  those  who  accept  such  aspersions 
as  are  scattered  against  us,  Do  you  regard  all  men  as  a  collection 
of  bats,  or  as  frogs,  or  as  worms,  in  consequence  of  the  pre- 
eminence of  God  ?  or  do  you  not  include  the  rest  of  mankind 
in  this  proposed  comparison,  but  on  account  of  their  possession 
of  reason,  and  of  the  established  laws,  treat  them  as  men,  while 
you  hold  cheap  ^  Christians  and  Jeics,  because  their  opinions 

VTTO  o'tKiiuv  Kcii  ofiavtQuu.  ^  TSjy  oiipxvid'j  (popeiv. 


184  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

are  distasteful  to  you,  and  compare  them  to  the  animals  above 
mentioned?  And  \Yhatever  answer  you  may  return  to  our 
question,  we  shall  reply  by  endeavouring  to  show  that  such 
assertions  are  most  unbecoming,  whether  spoken  of  all  men  in 
general,  or  of  us  in  particular.  For,  let  it  be  supposed  that  you 
say  justly  that  all  men,  as  compared  with  God,  are  [rightly] 
likened  to  these  worthless^  animals,  since  their  littleness  is  not 
at  all  to  be  compared  with  the  superiority  of  God,  what  then 
do  you  mean  by  littleness?  Answer  me,  good  sirs.  If  you 
refer  to  littleness  of  body,  know  tliat  superiority  and  inferiority, 
if  truth  is  to  be  judge,  are  not  determined  by  a  bodily  standard.^ 
For,  on  such  a  view,  vultures  ^  and  elephants  would  be  superior 
to  us  men ;  for  they  are  larger,  and  stronger,  and  longer-lived 
than  we.  But  no  sensible  person  would  maintain  that  these 
irrational  creatures  are  superior  to  rational  beings,  merely  on 
account  of  their  bodies :  for  the  possession  of  reason  raises  a 
rational  being  to  a  vast  superiority  over  all  irrational  creatures. 
Even  the  race  of  virtuous  and  blessed  beings  would  admit  this,  . 
whether  they  are,  as  ye  say,  good  demons,  or,  as  we  are  accus-^ 
tomed  to  call  them,  the  angels  of  God,  or  any  other  natures 
whatever  superior  to  that  of  man,  since  the  rational  faculty 
within  them  has  been  made  perfect,  and  endowed  with  all 
virtuous  qualities.* 

Chapter  xxv. 

But  if  you  depreciate  the  littleness  of  man,  not  on  account  of 
his  body,  but  of  his  soul,  regarding  it  as  inferior  to  that  of  other 
rational  beings,  and  especially  of  those  who  are  virtuous ;  and 
inferior,  because  evil  dwells  in  it, — why  should  those  among 
Christians  who  are  wicked,  and  those  among  the  Jews  who 
lead  sinful  lives,  be  termed  a  collection  of  bats,  or  ants,  or 
worms,  or  frogs,  rather  than  those  individuals  among  other 
nations  who  are  guilty  of  wickedness  ? — seeing,  in  this  respect, 
any  individual  whatever,  especially  if  carried  away  by  the  tide 
of  evil,  is,  in  comparison  with  the  rest  of  mankind,  a  bat,  and 
worm,  and  frog,  and  ant.  And  although  a  man  may  be  an 
orator  like  Demosthenes,  yet,  if  stained  with  wickedness  like 


Book  iv.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  185 

liis/  and  guilty  of  deeds  proceeding,  like  his,  from  a  wicked 
nature  ;  or  an  Antiphon,  who  was  also  considered  to  be  indeed 
an  orator,  yet  who  annihilated  the  doctrine  of  providence  in  his 
writings,  which  were  entitled  Concerning  Truth,  like  that  dis- 
course of  Celsus, — such  individuals  are  notwithstanding  worms, 
rolling  in  a  corner  of  the  dung-heap  of  stupidity  and  ignorance. 
Indeed,  whatever  be  the  nature  of  the  rational  faculty,  it  could 
not  reasonably  be  compared  to  a  worm,  because  it  possesses 
capabilities  of  virtue.'  For  these  adumbrations  ^  towards  virtue 
do  not  allow  of  those  who  possess  the  power  of  acquiring  it, 
and  who  are  incapable  of  wholly  losing  its  seeds,  to  be  likened 
to  a  worm.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  neither  can  men  in 
general  be  deemed  worms  in  comparison  with  God.  For 
reason,  having  its  beginning  in  the  reason  of  God,  cannot 
allow  of  the  rational  animal  being  considered  wholly  alien  from 
Deity.  Nor  can  those  among  Christians  and  Jews  who  are 
wicked,  and  who,  in  truth,  are  neither  Christians  nor  Jews,  be 
compared,  more  than  other  wicked  men,  to  worms  rolling  in  a 
corner  of  a  dunghill.  And  if  the  nature  of  reason  will  not 
permit  of  such  comparisons,  it  is  manifest  that  we  must  not 
calumniate  human  nature,  which  has  been  formed  for  virtue, 
even  if  it  should  sin  through  ignorance,  nor  liken  it  to  animals 
of  the  kind  described. 

Chapter  xxvi. 

But  if  it  is  on  account  of  those  opinions  of  the  Christians 
and  Jews  which  displease  Celsus  (and  which  he  does  not  at  all 
appear  to  understand)  that  they  are  to  be  regarded  as  worms 
and  ants,  and  the  rest  of  mankind  as  different,  let  us  examine 
the  acknowledged  opinions  of  Christians  and  Jews,'*  and  com- 
pare them  with  those  of  the  rest  of  mankind,  and  see  whether 
it  will  not  appear  to  those  who  have  once  admitted  that  certain 
men  are  worms  and  ants,  that  they  are  the  worms  and  ants  and 
frogs  who  have  fallen  away  from  sound  views  of  God,  and, 

^  The  allusion  may  possibly  be  to  his  flight  from  the  field  of  Chseronea, 
or  to  his  avarice,  or  to  the  alleged  impurity  of  his  life,  -which  is  referred  to 
by  Plutarch  in  his  Lives  of  the  Ten  Orators. — Spexcer. 

*■  rat  uii-ohu  izccai  "i^fCiCpxi-jL^ivct.  ooyiy-ct-a,  'K.OKJTtxticJv  Kui  '  lovOuiai/. 


18G  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

under  a  vain  appearance  of  piety/  worsliip  either  irrational 
animals,  or  images,  or  other  objects,  the  works  of  men's  hands  ;^ 
whereas,  from  the  beauty  of  such,  they  ought  to  admire  the 
Maker  of  them,  and  worship  Him :  wliile  those  are  indeed  men, 
and  more  honourable  than  men  (if  there  be  anything  that  is 
so),  who,  in  obedience  to  their  reason,  are  able  to  ascend  from 
stocks  and  stones,^  nay,  even  from  what  is  reckoned  the  most 
precious  of  all  matter — silver  and  gold ;  and  who  ascend  up 
also  from  the  beautiful  things  in  the  world  to  the  Maker  of  all, 
and  entrust  themselves  to  Him  who  alone  is  able  to  satisfy^  all 
existing  things,  and  to  overlook  the  thoughts  of  all,  and  to  hear 
the  prayers  of  all ;  who  send  up  their  prayers  to  Him,  and  do 
all  things  as  in  the  presence  of  Him  who  beholds  everything, 
and  who  are  careful,  as  in  the  presence  of  the  Hearer  of  all 
things,  to  say  nothing  which  might  not  with  propriety  be  reported 
to  God.  Will  not  such  piety  as  this — which  can  be  ovei'come 
neither  by  labours,  nor  by  the  dangers  of  death,  nor  by  logical 
plausibilities^ — be  of  no  avail  in  preventing  those  who  have 
obtained  it  from  being  any  longer  compared  to  worms,  even  if 
they  had  been  so  represented  before  their  assumption  of  a  piety 
so  remarkable  ?  Will  they  who  subdue  that  fierce  longing  for 
sexual  pleasures  which  has  reduced  the  souls  of  many  to  a  weak 
and  feeble  condition,  and  who  subdue  it  because  they  are  per- 
suaded that  they  cannot  otherwise  have  communion  with  God, 
unless  they  ascend  to  Him  through  the  exercise  of  temperance, 
appear  to  you  to  be  the  brothers  of  worms,  and  relatives  of 
ants,  and  to  bear  a  likeness  to  frogs?  What!  is  the  brilliant 
quality  of  justice,  which  keeps  inviolate  the  rights  common  to 
our  neighbour,  and  our  kindred,  and  which  observes  fairness, 
and  benevolence,  and  goodness,  of  no  avail  in  saving  him  who 
practises  it  from  being  termed  a  bird  of  the  night  ?  And  are 
not  they  who  wallow  in  dissoluteness,  as  do  the  majority  of 
mankind,  and  they  who  associate  promiscuously  with  common 
harlots,  and  who  teach  that  such  practices  are  not  wholly  con- 
trary to  propriety,  worms  who  roll  in  mire  ? — especially  when 
they  are  compared  with  those  who  have  been  taught  not  to  take 
the  "  members  of  Christ,"  and  the  body  inhabited  by  the  Word, 

^  (fuvTciaicf.  o'  ivai(iiici;.  "  '/j  x«(  t«  o/ifMOi'pyvif/.urx.         "  >.i6au  Kctl  ijf^iav. 


Book  iv.]  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  187 

and  make  them  the  "members  of  a  harlot;"  and  who  have 
already  learned  that  the  body  of  the  rational  behig,  as  conse- 
crated to  the  God  of  all  things,  is  the  temple  of  the  God  whom 
they  worship,  becoming  such  from  the  pure  conceptions  which 
they  entertain  of  the  Creator,  and  wlio  also,  being  careful  not 
to  corrupt  the  temple  of  God  by  unlawful  pleasure,  practise 
temperance  as  constituting  piety  towards  God ! 

Chapter  xxvii. 

And  I  have  not  yet  spoken  of  the  other  evils  which  prevail 
amongst  men,  from  which  even  those  who  have  the  appearance 
of  philosophers  are  not  speedily  freed,  for  in  philosophy  there 
are  many  pretenders.  Nor  do  I  say  anything  on  the  point  that 
many  such  evils  are  found  to  exist  among  those  who  are  neither 
Jews  nor  Christians.  Of  a  truth,  such  evil  jDractices  do  not  at 
all  prevail  among  Christians^  if  you  properly  examine  what  con- 
stitutes a  Christian.  Or,  if  any  persons  of  that  kind  should  be 
discovered,  they  are  at  least  not  to  be  found  among  those  w^ho 
frequent  the  assemblies,  and  come  to  the  public  prayers,  with- 
out their  being  excluded  fi'om  them,  unless  it  should  happen, 
and  that  rarely,  that  some  one  individual  of  such  a  character 
escapes  notice  in  the  crowd.  We,  then,  are  not  worms  who 
assemble  together ;  who  take  our  stand  against  the  Jews  on 
those  Scriptures  which  they  believe  to  be  divine,  and  who  show 
that  He  who  was  spoken  of  in  prophecy  has  come,  and  that 
the}/  have  been  abandoned  on  account  of  the  greatness  of  their 
sins,  and  that  ice  who  have  accepted  the  Word  have  the  highest 
hopes  in  God,  both  because  of  our  faith  in  Him,  and  of  His 
ability  to  receive  us  into  His  communion  pure  from  all  evil  and 
wickedness  of  life.  If  a  man,  then,  should  call  himself  a  Jew 
or  a  Christian,  he  would  not  say  without  qualification  that  God 
had  made  the  whole  world,  and  the  vault  of  heaven-^  for  us  in 
particular.  But  if  a  man  is,  as  Jesus  taught,  pure  in  heart, 
and  meek,  and  peaceful,  and  cheerfully  submits  to  dangers  for 
the  sake  of  his  religion,  such  an  one  might  reasonably  have  con- 
fidence in  God,  and  with  a  full  apprehension  of  the  word  con- 
tained in  the  prophecies,  might  say  this  also :  ''  All  these  things 
has  God  shown  beforehand,  and  announced  to  us  who  believe." 

^  T5JJ/  oi/poivtov  (popxu. 


188  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

Chapter  xxviii. 

But  since  he  has  represented  those  whom  he  regards  as 
Avorms,  viz.  the  Christians,  as  saying  that  "  God,  having 
abandoned  the  heavenly  regions,  and  despising  this  great  earth, 
takes  up  His  abode  amongst  us  alone,  and  to  us  alone  makes 
His  announcements,  and  ceases  not  His  messages  and  inquiries 
as  to  how  we  may  beconie  His  associates  for  ever,"  we  have  to 
answer  that  he  attributes  to  us  words  w^hich  we  never  uttered, 
seeing  we  both  read  and  know  that  God  loves  all  existing 
things,  and  loathes^  nothing  which  He  has  made,  for  He  would 
not  have  created  anything  in  hatred.  We  have,  moreover,  read 
the  declaration  :  "  And  Thou  sparest  all  things,  because  they 
are  Thine,  O  lover  of  souls.  For  Thine  incorruptible  Spirit 
is  in  all.  And  therefore  those  also  who  have  fallen  away  for 
a  little  time  Thou  rebukest,  and  admonishest,  reminding  them 
of  their  sins."  -  How  can  we  assert  that  "  God,  leaving  the 
regions  of  heaven,  and  the  whole  world,  and  despising  this 
great  earth,  takes  up  His  abode  amongst  us  only,"  when  we 
have  found  that  all  thoughtful  persons  must  say  in  their 
prayers,  that  "  the  earth  is  full  of  the  mercy  of  the  Lord,"  ^ 
and  that  "  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  is  upon  all  flesh ; "  ^  and 
that  God,  being  good,  "  m.aketh  His  sun  to  arise  upon  the  evil 
and  the  good,  and  sendeth  His  rain  upon  the  just  and  the 
unjust ; "  ^  and  that  He  encourages  us  to  a  similar  course  of 
action,  in  order  that  we  may  become  His  sons,  and  teaches  us 
to  extend  the  benefits  which  we  enjoy,  so  far  as  in  our  power, 
to  all  men  ?  For  He  Himself  is  said  to  be  the  Saviour  of  all 
men,  especially  of  them  that  believe  ;^  and  Plis  Christ  to  be  the 
"  propitiation  for  our  sins,  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  also  for 
the  sins  of  the  whole  w^orld."  ^  And  this,  then,  is  our  answer 
to  the  allegations  of  Celsus.  Certain  other  statements,  in 
keeping  w^ith  the  character  of  the  Jews,  might  be  made  by 
some  of  that  nation,  but  certainly  not  by  the  Christians,  who 
have  been  taught  that  "  God  commendeth  His  love  toAvards  us, 
in  that,  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us  ; "  ®  and 

1  (ili-hvoaiTcct.  2  cf_  ^is(j.  of  Solom.  xi.  26,  xii.  1,  2. 

3  Ps.  xxxiii.  5.  *  Ecclus.  xviii.  13.  ^  Cf_  Matt.  v.  45. 

«  Cf.  1  Tim.  iv.  10.  ^  Cf.  1  John  ii.  2.  «  Cf.  Rom.  v.  8. 


Book  IV.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  189 

although  "  scarcely  for  a  righteous  man  will  one  die,  yet  per- 
adventure  for  a  good  man  some  would  even  dare  to  die."  ^ 
But  now  is  Jesus  declared  to  have  come  for  the  sake  of  sinners 
in  all  parts  of  the  world  (that  they  may  forsake  their  sin,  and 
entrust  themselves  to  God),  being  called  also,  agreeably  to  an 
ancient  custom  of  these  Scriptures,  the  "  Christ  of  God." 

Chapter  xxix. 

But  Celsus  perhaps  has  misunderstood  certain  of  those 
whom  he  has  termed  "worms,"  when  they  affirm  that  "God 
exists,  and  that  loe  are  next  to  Him."  And  he  acts  like  those 
who  would  find  fault  with  an  entire  sect  of  philosophers,  on 
account  of  certain  words  uttered  by  some  rash  youth  who,  after 
a  three  days'  attendance  upon  the  lectures  of  a  philosopher, 
should  exalt  himself  above  other  people  as  inferior  to  himself, 
and  devoid  of  philosophy.  For  we  know  that  there  are  many 
creatures  more  honourable^  than  man;  and  we  have  read  that 
"  God  standeth  in  the  congregation  of  gods,"  ^  but  of  gods  who 
are  not  worshipped  by  the  nations,  "  for  all  the  gods  of  the 
nations  are  idols."  '^  "We  have  read  also,  that  "  God,  standing 
in  the  congregation  of  the  gods,  judge th  among  the  gods."  ^ 
We  know,  moreover,  that  "  though  there  be  that  are  called 
gods,  whether  in  heaven  or  in  earth  (as  there  be  gods  many  and 
lords  many),  but  to  us  there  is  one  God,  the  Father,  of  whom 
are  all  things,  and  we  in  Him ;  and  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by 
whom  are  all  things,  and  we  by  Him."  ^  And  we  know  that 
in  this  way  the  angels  are  superior  to  men ;  so  that  men,  when 
made  perfect,  become  like  the  angels.  "  For  in  the  resurrection 
they  neither  many  nor  are  given  in  marriage,  but  the  righteous 
are  as  the  angels  in  heaven,"  ^  and  also  become  "  equal  to  the 
angels."^  We  know,  too,  that  in  the  arrangement  of  the  uni- 
verse there  are  certain  beings  termed  "thrones,"  and  others 
"  dominions,"  and  others  "  powers,"  and  others  "  principalities ;" 
and  we  see  that  we  men,  who  are  far  inferior  to  these,  may 
entertain  the  hope  that  by  a  virtuous  life,  and  by  acting  in  all 
things  agreeably  to  reason,  we  may  rise  to  a  likeness  with  all 

1  Cf.  Rom.  V.  7.  2  Ti^ajTspx.  3  Cf.  Ps.  Ixxxii.  1. 

*  Ixi/iioyici.    Cf.  Ps.  xcvi.  5.       ^  Cf.  Ps.  Ixxxii.  1.       ^  1  Cor.  viii.  5,  6. 
7  Cf.  Matt.  xxii.  30.  «  Cf.  Luke  xx.  36. 


190  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

these.  And,  lastly,  because  "  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we 
shall  be ;  but  ^Ye  know  that  when  He  shall  appear,  we  shall  be 
like  God,  and  shall  see  Him  as  He  is."  ^  And  if  any  one  were 
to  maintain  what  is  asserted  by  some  (either  by  those  who 
possess  intelligence  or  who  do  not,  but  have  misconceived 
sound  reason),  that  "  God  exists,  and  loe  are  next  to  Him,"  I 
would  interpret  the  word  "  we,"  by  using  in  its  stead,  "  We  who 
act  according  to  reason,"  or  rather,  "  We  virtuous,  who  act 
according  to  reason."  ^  For,  in  our  opinion,  the  same  virtue 
belongs  to  all  the  blessed,  so  that  the  virtue  of  man  and  of 
God  is  identical.^  And  therefore  we  are  taught  to  become 
"  perfect,"  as  our  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect.^  No  good  and 
virtuous  man,  then,  is  a  "worm  rolling  in  filth,"  nor  is  a  pious 
man  an  "  ant,"  nor  a  righteous  man  a  "  frog  ; "  nor  could  one 
whose  soul  is  enlightened  with  the  bright  light  of  truth  be 
reasonably  likened  to  a  "  bird  of  the  night."  > 

Chapter  xxx. 

It  appears  to  me  that  Celsus  has  also  misunderstood  this 
statement,  "  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image  and  likeness ;"  ^ 
and  has  therefore  represented  the  "worms"  as  saying  that, 
being  created  by  God,  we  altogether  resemble  Him.  If,  how- 
ever, he  had  known  the  difference  between  man  being  created 
"  in  the  image  of  God  "  and  "  after  His  likeness,"  and  that  God 
is  recorded  to  have  said,  "  Let  us  make  man  after  our  imace 
and  likeness,"  but  that  He  made  man  "after  the  image"  of 
God,  but  not  then  also  "  after  His  likeness,"  ®  he  would  not 
have  represented  us  as  saying  that  "we  are  altogether  like 
Him."  Moreover,  we  do  not  assert  that  the  stars  are  subject 
to  us  ;  since  the  resurrection  which  is  called  the  "  resurrection 

1  Cf.  1  John  iii.  2. 

^  K»]  rovro  "/  SLv  'ipfinvsvoti/,i,  to  "'^^s/f"  "hiyuv  oi'M  zov  ol  Xoy/xoi,  kolI 
STi  fiSiy^'Kov,  01  OTTovduloi  T^oyiKOi. 

^  uare  >ca,l  ij  ccvrri  ccper'/i  duSpuTTov  kxi  Qsaij.  Cf.  Cicero,  cle  leg.  i. :  "  Jam 
vero  virtus  eadem  in  hominc  ac  deo  est,  neqnc  ullo  alio  in  gcuio  prajterea. 
Est  autcm  virtus  nihil  aliud,  quam  in  se  perfecta,  et  ad  summum  perducta 
natura.  Est  igitur  homini  cum  Deo  similitudo."  Cf.  also  Clemens  Alex. 
otrom.  vii.  :  Ov  yxp,  x,ot.da,~sf)  oi  Ituiko'i,  ec6su;^  -ttolvv  t'^v  uvrr^u  ccostT/V 
dvdpuTTov  'KiyojA.iu  xxl  Qiov.     Cf.  Theodoret,  Serm.  xi. — Spencer. 

*  Cf.  Matt.  V.  48.  «  Cf.  Gen.  i.  26.  e  cf.  Gen.  i.  27. 


Book  iv.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  191 

of  the  just,"  and  wlilcli  is  understood  by  wise  men,  is  compared 
to  the  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars,  by  him  who  said,  '•  There  is 
one  glory  of  the  sun,  and  another  glory  of  the  moon,  and 
another  glory  of  the  stars ;  for  one  star  differeth  from  another 
star  in  glory.  So  also  is  the  resurrectiou  of  the  dead."^ 
Daniel  also  prophesied  long  ago  regarding  these  things.^ 
Celsus  says  further,  that  we  assert  that  "  all  things  have  been 
arranged  so  as  to  be  subject  to  us,"  having  perhaps  heard  some 
of  the  intelligent  among  us  speaking  to  that  effect,  and  per- 
haps also  not  understanding  the  saying,  that  "  he  who  is  the 
greatest  amongst  us  is  the  servant  of  all."  ^  And  if  the  Greeks 
say,  "  Then  sun  and  moon  are  the  slaves  of  mortal  men,"  ^  they 
express  approval  of  the  statement,  and  give  an  explanation  of 
its  meaning ;  but  since  such  a  statement  is  either  not  made  at 
all  by  us,  or  is  expressed  in  a  different  way,  Celsus  here  too 
falsely  accuses  us.  Moreover,  we  who,  according  to  Celsus,  are 
"  worms,"  are  represented  by  him  as  saying  that,  "  seeing  some 
among  us  are  guilty  of  sin,  God  will  come  to  us,  or  will  send 
His  own  Son,  that  He  may  consume  th&  wicked,  and  that  we 
other  frogs  may  enjoy  eternal  life  with  Him."  Observe  how 
this  venerable  philosopher,  like  a  low  buffoon,^  turns  into  ridi- 
cule and  mockery,  and  a  subject  of  laughter,  the  announce- 
ment of  a  divine  judgment,  and  of  the  punishment  of  the 
wicked,  and  of  the  reward  of  the  righteous  ;  and  subjoins  to  all 
this  the  remark,  that  "  such  statements  would  be  more  endur- 
able if  made  by  worms  and  frogs  than  by  Christians  and  Jews 
who  quarrel  with  one  another!"  We  shall  not,  however, 
imitate  his  example,  nor  say  similar  things  regarding  those 
philosophers  who  profess  to  know  the  nature  of  all  things,  and 
!  who  discuss  with  each  other  the  manner  in  which  all  thino-s 
j  were  created,  and  how  the  heaven  and  earth  originated,  and  all 
'  things  in  them ;  and  how  the  souls  [of  men],  being  either  un- 
begotten,  and  not  created  by  God,  are  yet  governed  by  Him, 
and  pass  from  one  body  to  another ;  ^  or  being  formed  at  the 
same  time  with  the  body,  exist  for  ever  or  pass  away.  For 
instead  of  treating  with  respect  and  accepting  the  intention  of 
those  who  have  devoted  themselves  to  the  investigation  of  the 
>  Cf.  1  Cor.  XV.  41,  42.  2  cf.  Dan.  xii.  3.       ^  cf.  Matt.  xx.  28. 

4  Cf.  Eui-ip.  Phccniss.  512.      ^  (iuiAo7.6'/,oi.  ^  kxI  d/^it'fiovm  cufiura. 


192  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv, 

truth,  one  might  mockingly  and  revih'ngly  say  that  such  men 
■were  "worms,"  Avho  did  not  measure  themselves  by  their  corner 
of  their  dung-heap  in  human  life,  and  who  accordingly  gave 
forth  their  opinions  on  matters  of  such  importance  as  if  they 
.  understood  them,  and  who  strenuously  assert  that  they  have 
1  obtained  a  view  of  those  things  which  cannot  be  seen  without 
a  higher  inspiration  and  a  diviner  power.  "  For  no  man 
knoweth  the  things  of  a  man,  save  the  spirit  of  man  which  is 
in  him :  even  so  the  things  of  God  knoweth  no  man,  but  the 
Spirit  of  God."  ^  We  are  not,  however,  mad,  nor  do  we  com- 
pare such  human  wisdom  (I  use  the  YK)rd  "wisdom"  ia  the 
common  acceptation),  which  busies  itself  not  about  the  affairs 
of  the  multitude,  but  in  the  investigation  of  truth,  to  the 
wrigglings  of  worms  or  any  other  such  creatures ;  but  in  the 
•'spirit  of  truth,  we  testify  of  certain  Greek  philosophers  that  they 
'  knew  God,  seeing  "  He  manifested  Himself  to  them,"  "  although 
"  they  glorified  Him  not  as  God,  neither  were  thankful,  but 
became  vain  in  their  imaginations  ;  and  professing  themselves 
to  be  wise,  they  became  foolish,  and  changed  the  glory  of  the 
incorruptible  God  into  an  image  made  like  to  corruptible  man, 
and  to  birds,  and  four-footed  beasts,  and  creeping  things."  ^ 

Chapter  xxxi. 

^  After  this,  wishing  to  prove  that  there  is  no  difference 
between  Jews  and  Christians,  and  those  animals  previously 
enumerated  by  him,  he  asserts  that  the  Jews  were  "  fugitives 
from  Egypt,  who  never  performed  anything  worthy  of  note, 
and  never  were  held  in  any  reputation  or  account."  *  Now, 
on  the  point  of  their  not  being  fugitives,  nor  Egyptians,  but 
Hebrews  who  settled  in  Egypt,  we  have  spoken  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages.  But  if  he  thinks  his  statement,  that  "they 
were  never  held  in  any  reputation  or  account,"  to  be  proved, 
because  no  remarkable  event  in  their  history  is  found  recorded 
by  the  Greeks,  we  would  answer,  that  if  one  will  examine  their 
polity  from  its  first  beginning,  and  the  arrangement  of  their 
laws,  he  will  find  that  they  were  men  who  represented  upon 
earth  the  shadow  of  a  heavenly  life,  and  that  amongst  them 

1  Cf.  1  Cor.  ii.  11.  2  cf.  Rom.  i.  19.  ^  Rom.  i.  21-23. 

oi/t'  iv  "hoyu,  ovT  iv  dpiSf^u  ciVTOvg  ttots  ysyiv/j/neuov;. 


Book  iv.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  193 

God  is  recognised  as  notliing  else,  save  He  who  is  over  all 
things,  and  that  amongst  them  no  maker  of  images  was  per- 
mitted to  enjoy  the  rights  of  citizenship.^  For  neither  painter 
nor  image-maker  existed  in  their  state,  the  law  expelling  all 
such  from  it;  that  there  might  be  no  pretext  for  the  con- 
struction of  images, — an  art  which  attracts  the  attention  of 
foolish  men,  and  w^hich  drags  down  the  eyes  of  the  soul  from 
God  to  earth.  There  was,  accordingly,  amongst  them  a  law  to 
the  following  effect :  ''  Do  not  transgress  the  law,  and  make  to 
yourselves  a  graven  image,  any  likeness  of  male  or  female  ; 
either  a  likeness  of  any  one  of  the  creatures  that  are  upon  the 
earth,  or  a  likeness  of  any  winged  fowl  that  flieth  under  the 
heaven,  or  a  likeness  of  any  creeping  thing  that  creepeth  upon 
the  earth,  or  a  likeness  of  any  of  the  fishes  which  are  in  the 
waters  under  the  earth."  ^  The  law,  indeed,  wished  them  to 
have  regard  to  the  truth  of  each  individual  thing,  and  not  to 
form  representations  of  things  contrary  to  reality,  feigning  the 
appearance  merely  of  what  was  really  male  or  really  female, 
or  the  nature  of  animals,  or  of  birds,  or  of  creeping  things,  or 
of  fishes.  Venerable,  too,  and  grand  was  this  prohibition  of 
theirs  :  "  Lift  not  up  thine  eyes  unto  heaven,  lest,  when  thou 
seest  the  sun,  and  the  moon,  and  the  stars,  and  all  the  host  of 
heaven,  thou  shouldst  be  led  astray  to  worship  them,  and  serve 
them."^  And  what  a  retjime'^  was  that  under  which  the  whole 
nation  was  placed,  and  which  rendered  it  impossible  for  any 
effeminate  person  to  appear  in  public  f  and  worthy  of  admira- 
tion, too,  was  the  arrangement  by  which  harlots  were  removed 
out  of  the  state,  those  incentives  to  the  passions  of  the  youth  ! 
Their  courts  of  justice  also  were  composed  of  men  of  the 
strictest  integrity,  who,  after  having  for  a  lengthened  period 
set  the  example  of  an  unstained  life,  were  entrusted  with  the 
duty  of  presiding  over  the  tribunals,  and  who,  on  account  of  \/ 
the  superhuman  purity  of  their  character,*'  were  said  to  be  gods,  '^ 
in  conformity  with  an  ancient  Jewish  usage  of  speech.  Here 
was  the  spectacle  of  a  whole  nation  devoted  to  philosophy ;  and 
in  order  that  there  might  be  leisure  to  listen  to  their  sacred 

1  i77o>.ire6BTo.  2  Q{  peut.  iv.  16-18.  ^  Cf.  Deut.  iv.  19. 

"*  voXireix.  ^  oi/li  (^a.i'jsadui  6yiAvopfav  oiov  r  r,v. 

*  o't  rive;  oix.  to  Kxdstpov  '/)So;^  kccI  to  i/TTip  civipuTrov. 
ORIG. — VOL.  II.  N 


194  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

laws,  the  days  termed  "  Sabbath,"  and  the  other  festivals  which 
existed  among  them,  were  instituted.  And  why  need  I  speak 
of  the  orders  of  their  priests  and  sacrifices,  which  contain  in- 
numerable indications  [of  deeper  truths]  to  those  who  wish  to 
ascertain  the  signification  of  things  ? 

Chapter  xxxii. 

But  since  nothing  belonging  to  human  nature  is  permanent, 
this  polity  also  must  gradually  be  corrupted  and  changed. 
And  Providence,  having  remodelled  their  venerable  system 
where  it  needed  to  be  changed,  so  as  to  adapt  it  to  men  of  all 
countries,  gave  to  believers  of  all  nations,  in  place  of  the  Jews, 
the  venerable  religion  of  Jesus,  who,  being  adorned  not  only 
with,  understanding,  but  also  with  a  share  of  divinity,^  and 
having  overthrown  the  doctrine  regarding  earthly  demons,  who 
delight  in  frankincense,  and  blood,  and  in  the  exhalations  of 
sacrificial  odours,  and  who,  like  the  fabled  Titans  or  Giants, 
drag  down  men  from  thoughts  of  God;  and  having  Himself  dis- 
regarded their  plots,  directed  chiefly  against  the  better  class  of 
men,  enacted  laws  which  ensure  happiness  to  those  who  live  ac- 
cording to  them,  and  who  do  not  flatter  the  demons  by  means 
of  sacrifices,  but  altogether  despise  them,  through  help  of  the 
word  of  God,  which  aids  those  who  look  upwards  to  Him.  And 
as  it  was  the  will  of  God  that  the  doctrine  of  Jesus  should  pre- 
vail amongst  men,  the  demons  could  effect  nothing,  although 
straining  every  nerve  ^  to  accomplish  the  destruction  of  Chris- 
tians ;  for  they  stirred  up  both  princes,  and  senates,  and  rulers 
in  every  place, — nay,  even  nations  themselves,  who  did  not 
perceive  the  irrational  and  wicked  procedure  of  the  demons, — 
against  the  word,  and  those  who  believed  in  it;  yet,  notwith- 
standing, the  word  of  God,  which  is  more  powerful  than  all 
other  tilings,  even  when  meeting  with  opposition,  deriving  from 
the  opposition,  as  it  were,  a  means  of  increase,  advanced  onwards, 
and  won  many  souls,  such  being  the  will  of  God.  And  we  have 
offered  these  remarks  by  way  of  a  necessary  digression.  For 
we  wished  to  answer  the  assertion  of  Celsus  concerning  the 
Jews,  that  they  were  "  fugitives  from  Egypt,  and  that  these 
men,  beloved  by  God,  never  accomplished  anything  worthy  of 


Book  iv.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  195 

note."  And  further,  in  answer  to  the  statement  that  "  they  were 
never  held  in  any  reputation  or  account,"  we  say,  that  hving 
apart  as  a  "chosen  nation  and  a  royal  priesthood,"  and  shunning 
intercourse  with  the  many  nations  around  themj  in  order  that 
their  morals  might  escape  corruption,  they  enjoyed  the  protection 
of  the  divine  power,  neither  coveting  like  the  most  of  mankind 
the  acquisition  of  other  kingdoms,  nor  yet  being  abandoned 
so  as  to  become,  on  account  of  their  smallness,  an  easy  object 
of  attack  to  others,  and  thus  be  altogether  destroyed ;  and  this 
lasted  so  long  as  they  were  worthy  of  the  'divine  protection. 
But  when  it  became  necessary  for  them,  as  a  nation  wholly 
given  to  sin,  to  be  brought  back  by  their  sufferings  to  their 
God,  they  were  abandoned  [by  Him],  sometimes  for  a  longer, 
sometimes  for  a  shorter  period,  until  in  the  time  of  the 
Romans,  having  committed  the  greatest  of  sins  in  putting 
Jesus  to  death,  they  were  completely  deserted. 

Chapter  xxxiii. 

Immediately  after  this,  Celsus,  assailing  the  contents  of  the 
first  book  of  Moses,  which  is  entitled  "  Genesis,"  asserts  that 
"  the  Jews  accordingly  endeavoured  to  derive  their  origin  from 
the  first  race  of  jugglers  and  deceivers,^  appealing  to  the 
testimony  of  dark  and  ambiguous  words,  whose  meaning  was 
veiled  in  obscurity,  and  which  they  misinterpreted '  to  the  un- 
learned and  ignorant,  and  that,  too,  when  such  a  point  had  never 
been  called  in  question  during  the  long  preceding  period." 
Now  Celsus  appears  to  me  in  these  words  to  have  expressed 
very  obscurely  the  meaning  which  he  intended  to  convey.  It  is 
probable,  indeed,  that  his  obscurity  on  this  subject  is  inten- 
tional, inasmuch  as  he  saw  the  strength  of  the  argument  which 
establishes  the  descent  of  the  Jews  from  their  ancestors ;  while 
again,  on  the  other  hand,  he  wished  not  to  appear  ignorant  that 
the  question  regarding  the  Jews  and  their  descent  was  one  that 
could  not  be  lightly  disposed  of.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  the 
Jews  trace  their  genealocry  back  to  the  three  fathers,  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob.  And  the  names  of  these  individuals  possess 
such  efficacy,  when  united  with  the  name  of  God,  that  not 

■'■  d^o  '^Tsar/i;  G'rropx;  yor,ruu  y,c<.\  T^'hoi'juv  clvSpu~au, 
^  •z'oips^rr/Qi'fisuoi. 


\ 


106  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  i v. 

only  do  those  belonging  to  the  nation  employ  in  their  prayers 
to  God,  and  in  the  exorcising  of  demons,  the  words,  "  God  of 
Abraham,  and  God  of  Isaac,  and  God  of  Jacob,"  but  so  also 
do  almost  all  those  who  occupy  themselves  with  incantations 
and  magical  rites.  For  there  is  found  in  treatises  on  magic  in 
many  countries  such  an  invocation  of  God,  and  assumption  of 
the  divine  name,  as  implies  a  familiar  use  of  it  by  these  men  in 
their  dealings  with  demons.  These  facts,  then — adduced  by 
Jews  and  Christians  to  prove  the  sacred  character  of  Abraham, 
and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  the  fathers  of  the  Jewish  race — appear 
to  me  not  to  have  been  altogether  unknown  to  Celsus,  but 
not  to  have  been  distinctly  set  forth  by  him,  because  he  was 
unable  to  answ^er  the  argument  which  might  be  founded  on 
them. 

Chapter  xxxiv. 

For  we  inquire  of  all  those  who  employ  such  invocations  of 
God,  saying  :  Tell  us,  friends,  who  was  Abraham,  and  what  sort 
of  person  was  Isaac,  and  what  power  did  Jacob  possess,  that  the 
appellation  "  God,"  when  joined  with  their  name,  could  effect 
such  wonders?  And  from  whom  have  you  learned,  or  can  you 
learn,  the  facts  relating  to  these  individuals  ?  And  who  has 
occupied  himself  with  writing  a  history  about  them,  either 
directly  magnifying  these  men  by  ascribing  to  them  mysterious 
powers,  or  hinting  obscurely  at  their  possession  of  certain  great 
and  marvellous  qualities,  patent  to  those  who  are  qualified  to 
see  them?^  And  wdien,  in  answer  to  our  inquiry,  no  one  can 
show  from  what  history — whether  Greek  or  barbarian — or,  if 
not  a  history,  yet  at  least  from  what  mystical  narrative,^  the 
accounts  of  these  men  are  derived,  we  shall  bring  forward  the 
book  entitled  "  Genesis,"  which  contains  the  acts  of  these  men, 
and  the  divine  oracles  addressed  to  them,  and  will  say,  Does 
not  the  use  by  you  of  the  names  of  these  three  ancestors  of 
the  race,  establishing  in  the  clearest  manner  that  effects  not  to 
be  lip-htly  regarded  are  produced  by  the  invocation  of  them, 

^  i'lTi  Kui  tuvToSiv  (jifcvvuovauv  hj  dz-opp>,T:oi;  zovg  oluopug,  ihs  Kcti  0/ 
v'TTOvotuii  uhwaoy.iVYiv  Ttvoi.  (/.iyuKa  x.ecl  Suv/nudici  toI;  6iupy,cut  uvtu  Ouucc- 
(.'Av'jI';. 

^  ^vsriK^;  ccva'/pce.(pi;s. 


Book  IV.]  0 rdO EN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  197 

evidence  tlie  divinity  of  the  men  ?  ^  And  yet  we  know  tlicm 
from  no  other  source  tlian  the  sacred  books  of  the  Jews ! 
^Moreover,  the  phrases,  "  the  God  of  Israel,"  and  "  the  God  of 
the  Hebrews,"  and  "  the  God  who  drowned  in  the  Eed  Sea  the 
kino-  of  Egypt  and  the  Egyptians,"  are  formulce  frequently 
employed  against  demons  and  certain  wicked  powers.  And  we 
learn  the  history  of  the  names  and  their  interpretation  from 
those  Hebrews,  who  in  their  national  literature  and  national 
tongue  dwell  with  pride  upon  these  things,  and  explain  their 
meaning.  How,  then,  should  the  Jews  attempt  to  derive  their 
origin  from  the  first  race  of  those  whom  Celsus  supposed  to 
be  jugglers  and  deceivers,  and  shamelessly  endeavour  to  trace 
themselves  and  their  beginning  back  to  these? — whose  names, 
being  Hebrew,  are  an  evidence  to  the  Hebrews,  who  have  their 
sacred  books  written  in  the  Hebrew  language  and  letters,  that 
their  nation  is  akin  to  these  men.  For  up  to  the  present  time, 
the  Jewish  names  belonging  to  the  Hebrew  language  were 
either  taken  from  their  writings,  or  generally  from  Avords  the 
meaning  of  which  was  made  known  by  the  Hebrew  language. 

Chapter  xxxv. 

And  let  any  one  who  peruses  the  treatise  of  Celsus  observe 
whether  it  does  not  convey  some  such  insinuation  as  the  above, 
when  he  says:  "  And  they  attempted  to  derive  their  origin  from 
the  first  race  of  jugglers  and  deceivers,  appealing  to  the  testi- 
mony of  dark  and  ambiguous  words,  whose  meaning  was  veiled 
in  obscurity."  For  these  names  are  indeed  obscure,  and  not 
within  the  comprehension  and  knowledge  of  many,  though  not 
in  our  opinion  of  doubtful  meaning,  even  although  assumed  by 
those  who  are  aliens  to  our  religion ;  but  as,  according  to  Celsus, 
they  do  not  ^  convey  any  ambiguity,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know  why 
he  has  rejected  them.  And  yet,  if  he  had  w'ished  honestly  to 
overturn  the  genealogy  which  he  deemed  the  Jews  to  have 
so   shamelessly   arrogated,   in  boasting   of   Abraham    and   his 

^  IpoiifAiu  TS"  LTt  yJ/i':7(i-i  TO  Kx]  v(p^  vi^Zv  '77cipx'Kcci/,(i(x.'Ji'i9ce.i  rtH  6yoi/.!X.Tca  rcHv 
roiojv  tO'Jzay  ysvKp'^uv  tov  iSvcv;,  rr,  i'jupyilcc  K!X,ri'.7^ce.i^;2)oi.'j6vTU'j,  oii-ic  iiiKazci.- 
(^pouYiTX  cL'jviciSxt  ix,  T'^j  y-XTi':: iicK'/jdia;  chrciv^  -7:0.0 loTt.ai  to  6-io'j  twj  clvnpcjv; 
Guietus  would  expunge  the  words  Tn  Ivxpyiix.  x.ura'Xcipci'ici'jouTuu. 

"  y-cLTO,  0£  KsA(70j/,  oy  'Trot.piaTa.yTOi..     Lihri  editi  ad  Oram  u;  •Troipicrreii'Tix,. 


i 


198  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

descendants  [as  their  progenitors],  lie  ought  to  have  quoted  all 
the  passages  bearing  on  the  subject;  and,  in  the  first  place,  to 
have  advocated  his  cause  with  such  arfiuments  as  he  thought 
likely  to  be  convincing,  and  in  the  next  to  have  bravely^  refuted, 
by  means  of  what  appeared  to  him  to  be  the  true  meaning,  and 
by  arguments  in  its  favour,  the  errors  existing  on  the  subject. 
But  neither  Celsus  nor  any  one  else  will  be  able,  by  their  discus- 
sions regarding  the  nature  of  names  employed  for  miraculous 
purposes,  to  lay  down  the  correct  doctrine  regarding  them,  and 
to  demonstrate  that  those  men  were  to  be  lightly  esteemed  whose 
names  merely,  not  among  their  countrymen  alone,  but  also 
amongst  foreigners,  could  accomplish  [such  results].  He  ought 
to  have  shown,  moreover,  how  we,  in  misinterpreting^  the 
passages  in  which  these  names  are  found,  deceive  our  hearers, 
as  he  imagines,  wdiile  he  himself,  who  boasts  that  he  is  not 
ignorant  or  unintelligent,  gives  the  true  interpretation  of  them. 
And  he  hazarded  the  assertion,^  in  speaking  of  those  names, 
from  which  the  Jews  deduce  their  genealogies,  that  "never, 
during  the  long  antecedent  period,  has  there  been  any  dispute 
about  these  names,  but  that  at  the  present  time  the  Jews 
dispute  about  them  with  certain  others,"  whom  he  does  not 
mention.  Now,  let  him  who  chooses  show  who  these  are 
that  dispute  with  the  Jews,  and  who  adduce  even  probable 
arguments  to  show  that  Jews  and  Christians  do  not  decide  cor- 
rectly on  the  points  relating  to  these  names,  but  that  there  are 
others  who  have  discussed  these  questions  with  the  greatest 
learning  and  accuracy.  But  we  are  well  assured  that  none  can 
establish  anything  of  the  sort,  it  being  manifest  that  these 
names  are  derived  from  the  Hebrew  language,  which  is  found 
only  among  the  Jews. 

Chapter  xxxvi. 

Celsus  in  the  next  place,  producing  from  history  other  than 
that  of  the  divine  record,  those  passages  which  bear  upon  the 
claims  to  great  antiquity  put  forth  by  many  nations,  as  the 
xVtheuians,  and  Egyptians,  and  Arcadians,  and  Phrygians,  who 
/  assert  that  certain  individuals  have  existed  among  them  who 
sprang  from  the  earth,  and  who  each  adduce  proofs  of  these 


Book  IV.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  199 

assertions,  says :  "The  Jews,  then,  leading  a  grovelling  life^ 
in  some  corner  of  Palestine,  and  being  a  wholly  uneducated 
people,  ^Yho  had  not  heard  that  these  matters  had  been  com- 
mitted to  verse  long  ago  by  Hesiod  and  innumerable  other 
inspired  men,  wove  together  some  most  incredible  and  insipid 
stories,'  viz.  that  a  certain  man  was  formed  by  the  hands  of 
God,  and  had  breathed  into  him  the  breath  of  life,  and  that  a 
woman  was  taken  from  his  side,  and  that  God  issued  certain 
commands,  and  that  a  serpent  opposed  these,  and  gained  a 
victory  over  the  commandments  of  God;  thus  relating  certain 
old  wives'  fables,  and  most  impiously  representing  God  as  weak 
at  the  very  beginning  [of  things],  and  unable  to  convince  even 
a  single  human  being  whom  Pie  Himself  had  formed."  By 
these  instances,  indeed,  this  deeply  read  and  learned  Celsus, 
who  accuses  Jews  and  Christians  of  ignorance  and  w\ant  of 
instruction,  clearly  evinces  the  accuracy  of  his  knowledge  of 
the  chronology  of  the  respective  historians,  whether  Greek  or 
Barbarian,  since  he  imagines  that  Hesiod  and  the  "  innumer- 
able "  others,  whom  he  styles  "  inspired "  men,  are  older  than 
Moses  and  his  writings — that  very  ISIoses  who  is  shown  to 
be  much  older  than  the  time  of  the  Trojan  war !  It  is  not 
the  Jews,  then,  who  have  composed  incredible  and  insipid 
stories  regarding  the  birth  of  man  from  the  earth,  but  these 
"inspired"  men  of  Celsus,  Hesiod  and  his  other  "innumer- 
able" companions,  who,  having  neither  learned  nor  heard  of 
the  far  older  and  most  venerable  accounts  existing  in  Palestine, 
have  written  such  histories  as  their  Theogonies,  attributing, 
so  far  as  in  their  power,  "  generation "  to  their  deities,  and 
innumerable  other  absurdities.  And  these  are  the  writers 
whom  Plato  expels  from  his  "  State"  as  being  corrupters  of  the 
youth ,^ — Homer,  viz.,  and  those  who  have  composed  poems  of 
a  similar  description  !  Kow  it  is  evident  that  Plato  did  not 
regard  as  "inspired"  those  men  who  had  left  behind  them  such 
works.  But  perhaps  it  was  from  a  desire  to  cast  reproach  upon 
us,  that  this  Epicurean  Celsus,  who  is  better  able  to  judge  than 
Plato  (if  it  be  the  same  Celsus  who  composed  two  other  books 
against  the  Christians),  called  those  individuals  "inspired" 
whom  he  did  not  in  reality  regard  as  such. 

^  avyKvy^ann;.       ^  di/.o-jijorarc/,.       ^  Cf.  Plato,  de  Repuh.  Book  ii.  etc. 


200  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv, 


Chapter  xxxvit. 

He  charges  us,  moreover,  with  introducing  "  a  man  formed 
by  the  hands  of  God,"  although  the  book  of  Genesis  has  made 
no  mention  of  the  "hands"  of  God,  either  when  relating  the 
creation  or  the  "  fashioning  "  ^  of  the  man  ;  while  it  is  Job  and 
David  who  have  used  the  expression,  "  Thy  hands  liave  made 
me  and  fashioned  me  ; "  ^  with  reference  to  which  it  would 
need  a  lengthened  discourse  to  point  out  the  sense  in  which 
these  words  were  understood  by  those  who  used  thein,  both  as 
regards  the  difference  between  "making"  and  "fashioning," 
and  also  the  "hands"  of  God.  For  those  who  do  not  under- 
stand these  and  similar  expressions  in  the  sacred  Scriptures, 
imagine  that  we  attribute  to  the  God  who  is  over  all  things  a 
form  ^  such  as  that  of  man  ;  and  according  to  their  conceptions, 
it  follows  that  we  consider  the  body  of  God  to  be  furnished 
with  wings,  since  the  Scriptures,  literally  understood,  attribute 
such  appendages  to  God.  The  subject  before  us,  however, 
does  not  require  us  to  interpret  these  expressions ;  for,  in  our 
explanatory  remarks  upon  the  book  of  Genesis,  these  matters 
have  been  made,  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  a  special  subject  of 
investigation.  Observe  next  the  malignity^  of  Celsus  in  what 
follows.  For  the  Scripture,  speaking  of  the  "  fashioning  "  *  of 
the  man,  says,  "  And  breathed  into  his  face  the  breath  of  life, 
and  the  man  became  a  living  soul."  ^  Whereon  Celsus,  wish- 
ing maliciously  to  ridicule  the  "  inbreathing  into  his  face  of 
the  breath  of  life,"  and  not  understanding  the  sense  in  which 
the  expression  was  employed,  states  that  "  they  composed  a 
story  that  a  man  was  fashioned  by  the  hands  of  God,  and  was 
inflated  by  breath  blown  into  him,"^  in  order  that,  taking  the 
word  "inflated"  to  be  used  in  a  similar  way  to  the  inflation  of 
skins,  he  might  ridicule  the  statement,  "  He  breathed  into  his 
face  the  breath  of  life," — terms  which  are  used  figuratively, 
and  require  to  be  explained  in  order  to  show  that  God  com- 

^  i-l  zr,;  cT?i«(7£<yj.  "  Cf.  Job  x.  8  and  Ps.  cxLx.  73. 

^  oyjif/.oe..  ■*  KoCKO'/iditccv. 

^  ■zy.a.QiO);.  ''  Gen.  ii.  7  ;  Hcb.  V2S3,  LXX.  -TzpcauTov. 


i 


Book  I V. ]  OPJGEN  A  GA  INST  CELS  US.  201 

inunicntod  to  man  of  His  incorruptible  Spirit ;  as  it  is  said, 
'•  For  Thine  incorruptible  Spirit  is  in  all  things."  ^ 

Chapter  xxxviti. 

In  the  next  place,  as  it  is  his  object  to  slander  our  Scriptures, 
he  ridicules  the  following  statement :  "And  God  caused  a  deep 
sleep  to  fall  upon  Adam,  and  he  slept :  and  He  took  one  of  his 
ribs,  and  closed  up  the  flesh  instead  thereof.  And  the  rib,  which 
He  had  taken  from  the  man,  made  He  a  woman,"  -  and  so  on  ; 
without  quoting  the  words,  which  would  give  the  hearer  the 
impression  that  they  are  spoken  with  a  figurative  meaning.  He 
would  not  even  have  it  appear  that  the  words  were  used  alle- 
gorically,  although  he  says  afterwards,  that  "  the  more  modest 
among  Jews  and  Christians  are  ashamed  of  these  things,  and 
endeavour  to  give  them  somehow  an  allegorisal  signification." 
Now  we  might  say  to  him,  Are  the  statements  of  your  "inspired" 
Hesiod,  which  he  makes  regarding  the  woman  in  the  form  of  a 
myth,  to  be  explained  allegorically,  in  the  sense  tliat  she  was 
given  by  Jove  to  men  as  an  evil  thing,  and  as  a  retribution  for 
the  theft  of  "the  fire;"^  while  that  regarding  the  woman  who 
was  taken  from  the  side  of  the  man  (after  he  had  been  buried 
in  deep  slumber),  and  was  formed  by  God,  appears  to  you  to  be 
related  without  any  rational  meaning  and  secret  signification?"* 
But  is  it  not  uncandid,  not  to  ridicule  the  former  as  myths, 
but  to  admire  them  as  philosophical  ideas  in  a  mythical  dress, 
and  to  treat  with  contempt^  the  latter,  as  offending  the  under- 
standing, and  to  declare  that  they  are  of  no  account  ?  For  if, 
because  of  the  mere  phraseology,  we  are  to  find  fault  with  what 
is  intended  to  have  a  secret  meaning,  see  whether  the  following: 
lines  of  Hesiod,  a  man,  as  you  say,  "  inspired,"  are  not  better 
fitted  to  excite  laughter : 

"  '  Son  of  lapetus ! '  with  wrathful  heart, 
Spake  the  cloud-gatherer :  '  Oh,  unmatched  in  art ! 
Exultest  thou  in  this  the  flame  retrieved. 
And  dost  thou  triumph  in  the  God  deceived? 
But  thou,  with  the  posterity  of  man, 
Shalt  rue  the  fraud  whence  mightier  ills  began  ; 

1  Wisd.  of  Solom.  xii.  1.  ^  Ct  Gen.  ii.  21,  22.  s  ^^.;  _,5  ^^^^^^^ 


202  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

T  -will  send  evil  for  thy  stealthy  fire, 

"While  all  embrace  it,  and  their  bane  desire.' 

The  sire,  who  rules  the  earth,  and  sways  the  pole, 

Had  said,  and  laughter  fill'd  his  secret  soul. 

He  bade  the  artist-god  his  hest  obey, 

And  mould  with  tempering  waters  ductile  clay : 

Infuse,  as  breathing  life  and  form  began, 

The  supple  vigour,  and  the  voice  of  man : 

Her  aspect  fair  as  goddesses  above, 

A  virgin's  likeness,  with  the  brows  of  love. 

He  bade  Minerva  teach  the  skill  that  dyes 

The  web  with  colours,  as  the  sliuttle  flies  ; 

He  called  the  magic  of  Love's  Queen  to  shed 

A  nameless  gi'ace  aroiind  her  courteous  head ; 

Instil  the  wish  that  longs  with  restless  aim, 

And  cares  of  dress  that  feed  upon  the  frame: 

Bade  Hermes  last  implant  the  craft  refined 

Of  artful  manners,  and  a  shameless  mind. 

He  said;  their  king  th'  inferior  powers  obeyed: 

The  fictile  likeness  of  a  bashful  maid 

Eose  from  the  temper'd  earth,  by  Jove's  behest, 

Under  the  forming  God  ;  the  zone  and  vest 

Were  clasp'd  and  folded  by  ^linerva's  hand : 

The  heaven-born  graces,  and  persuasion  bland 

Deck'd  her  round  limbs  with  chains  of  gold :  the  hours 

Of  loose  locks  twined  her  temples  with  spring  flowers. 

The  whole  attire  Minerva's  curious  care 

Form'd  to  her  shajDc,  and  fitted  to  her  air. 

But  in  her  breast  the  herald  from  above, 

FuU  of  the  counsels  of  deep  thundering  Jove, 

"Wrought  artful  manners,  wrought  perfidious  lies, 

And  speech  that  thrills  the  blood,  and  lulls  the  wise. 

Her  did  th'  interpreter  of  Gods  proclaim, 

And  named  the  woman  with  Pandora's  name ; 

Since  all  the  gods  conferr'd  their  gifts,  to  charm. 

For  man's  inventive  race,  this  beauteous  harm."  ^ 

Moreover,  v/liat  is  said  also  about  the  casket  is  fitted  of  itself 
to  excite  laughter ;  for  example : 

"  "Whilome  on  earth  the  sons  of  men  abode 
From  ills  apart,  and  labour's  irksome  load, 
And  sore  diseases,  bringing  age  to  man  ; 
Now  the  sad  life  of  mortals  is  a  span. 

^  Hesiod,  Works  and  Days,  i.  v.  73-11-1  (Elton's  translation). 


Book  iv.]  OlilGEN  AGAINST  GELS  US.  203 

The  woman's  Lands  a  mighty  casket  bear ; 
She  lifts  the  lid ;  she  scatters  griefs  in  air : 
Alone,  beneath  the  vessels'  rims  detained, 
Hoi:)C  still  within  th'  unbroken  cell  remained, 
Nor  fled  abroad ;  so  will'd  cloud-gatherer  Jove : 
The  woman's  hand  had  dropp'd  the  lid  above."  ^ 

Now,  to  him  who  would  give  to  these  lines  a  grave  allegorical 
meaning  (whether  any  such  meaning  be  contained  in  them  or 
not),  we  would  say :  Are  the  Greeks  alone  at  liberty  to  con- 
vey a  philosophic  meaning  in  a  secret  covering?  or  perhaps 
also  the  Egyptians,  and  those  of  the  barbarians  who  pride 
themselves  upon  their  mysteries  and  the  truth  [which  is  con- 
cealed within  them]  ;  while  the  Jews  alone,  with  their  lawgiver 
and  historians,  appear  to  you  the  most  unintelligent  of  men  ? 
And  is  this  the  only  nation  which  has  not  received  a  share  of 
divine  power,  and  which  yet  was  so  grandly  instructed  how  to 
rise  upwards  to  the  uncreated  nature  of  God,  and  to  gaze  on 
Him  alone,  and  to  expect  from  Him  alone  [the  fulfilment  of] 
their  hopes? 

Chapter  xxxix. 

But  as  Celsus  makes  a  jest  also  of  the  serpent,  as  counter- 
acting the  injunctions  given  by  God  to  the  man,  taking  the 
narrative  to  be  an  old  wife's  fable,^  and  has  purposely  neither 
mentioned  the  paradise^  of  God,  nor  stated  that  God  is  said  to 
have  planted  it  in  Eden  towards  the  east,  and  that  there  after- 
wards sprang  up  from  the  earth  every  tree  that  was  beautiful 
to  the  sight,  and  good  for  food,  and  the  tree  of  life  in  the  midst 
of  the  paradise,  and  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil,  and  the  other  statements  which  follow,  wdiich  might  of 
themselves  lead  a  candid  reader  to  see  that  all  these  thinops 

/ 

y  had  not  inappropriately  an  allegorical  meaning,  let  us  contrast 
with  this  the  words  of  Socrates  regarding  Eros  in  the  Sympo- 
sium of  Plato,  and  which  are  put  in  the  mouth  of  Socrates  as 
being  more  appropriate  than  what  was  said  regarding  him  by 
all  the  others  at  the  Symposium.     The  words  of  Plato  are  as 

1  Hesiod,  Works  and  Dcnjs,  i.  v.  125-134:  (Elton's  translation). 
^  Treipabiiaos. 


204  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

follow  :  "  When  Aphrodite  was  born,  the  gods  lield  a  banquet, 
and  there  was  present,  along  with  the  others,  Porus  the  son  of 
Metis.  And  after  they  had  dined,  Penia^  came  to  beg  for 
something  (seeing  there  was  an  entertainment),  and  she  stood 
at  the  gate.  Porus  meantime,  having  become  intoxicated  with 
the  nectar  (for  there  was  then  no  wine),  went  into  the  garden 
of  Zeus,  and  being  heavy  with  liquor,  lay  dow-n  to  sleep. 
Penia  accordingly  formed  a  secret  plot,  with  a  view  of  freeing 
herself  from  her  condition  of  poverty,^  to  get  a  child  by  Porus, 
and  accordingly  lay  down  beside  him,  and  became  pregnant 
with  Eros.  And  on  this  account  Eros  has  become  the  follower 
and  attendant  of  Aphrodite,  having  been  begotten  on  her  birth- 
day feast,^  and  being  at  the  same  time  by  nature  a  lover  of 
the  beautiful,  because  Aphrodite  too  is  beautiful.  Seeing,  then, 
that  Eros  is  the  son  of  Porus  and  Penia,  the  following  is  his 
condition.*  In  the  first  place,  he  is  always  poor,  and  far  from 
being  delicate  and  beautiful,  as  most  persons  imagine ;  but  is 
withered,  and  sunburnt,^  and  unshod,  and  without  a  home, 
sleeping  always  upon  the  ground,  and  without  a  covering  ; 
lying  in  the  open  air  beside  gates,  and  on  public  roads ;  possess- 
ing the  nature  of  his  mother,  and  dwelling  continually  with 
indigence.^  But,  on  the  other  hand,  in  conformity  wuth  the 
character  of  his  father,  he  is  given  to  plotting  against  the 
beautiful  and  the  good,  being  courageous,  and  hasty,  and  vehe- 
ment ;  ^  a  keen  ^  hunter,  perpetually  devising  contrivances  ; 
both  much  given  to  forethought,  and  also  fertile  in  resources ; ' 
acting  like  a  philosopher  throughout  the  whole  of  his  life ;  a 
terrible  ^°  sorcerer,  and  dealer  in  drugs,  and  a  sophist  as  well ; 
neither  immortal  by  nature  nor  yet  mortal,  but  on  the  same 
day,  at  one  time  he  flourishes  and  lives  when  he  has  plenty, 
and  again  at  another  time  dies,  and  once  more  is  recalled  to 
life  through  possessing  the  nature  of  his  father.  But  the  sup- 
plies furnished  to  him  are  always  gradually  disappearing,  so 
that  he  is  never  at  any  time  in  want,  nor  yet  rich ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  he  occupies  an  intermediate  position  between  wis- 

^  Penia,  poverty ;  Porus,  abuudance.  -  lid.  Tr,v  ccCTVi;  diropioiv. 

OK'hripos  xctl  ui/xf^'^ipo;.  ^  ii/Oeix.  ''  avvrovci;. 

*  "htivog.  ^  y,c/.\  (ppov'/itjiug  i'7:idv,urir'/;g  kcu  '776pifA0i.  ^^  "ittvo;  yoYi;. 


Book  IV.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  205 

dom  and  ignorance."  Now,  if  those  who  read  these  words 
were  to  imitate  the  malignity  of  Celsus — which  be  it  far  from 
Christians  to  do ! — they  would  ridicule  the  myth,  and  would 
turn  this  great  Plato  into  a  subject  of  jest ;  but  if,  on  investi- 
gating in  a  philosophic  spirit  what  is  conveyed  in  the  dress  of 
a  myth,  they  should  be  able  to  discover  the  meaning  of  Plato, 
[they  will  admire]  ^  the  manner  in  which  he  was  able  to  con- 
ceal, on  account  of  the  multitude,  in  the  form  of  this  myth,  the 
sreat  ideas  which  presented  themselves  to  him,  and  to  speak 
in  a  befitting  manner  to  those  who  know  how  to  ascertain  from 
the  myths  the  true  meaning  of  him  who  wove  them  together. 
Now  I  have  brought  forward  this  myth  occurring  in  the 
writings  of  Plato,  because  of  the  mention  in  it  of  the  garden  of 
*  Zeus,  which  appears  to  bear  some  resemblance  to  the  paradise 
i^  of  God,  and  of  the  comparison  between  Penia  and  the  serpent, 
and  the  plot  against  Porus  by  Penia,  which  may  be  compared 
with  the  plot  of  the  serpent  against  the  man.  It  is  not  very 
clear,  indeed,  whether  Plato  fell  in  with  these  stories  by  chance, 
or  whether,  as  some  think,  meeting  during  his  visit  to  Egypt 
with  certain  individuals  who  philosophized  on  the  Jewish  mys- 
teries, and  learning  some  things  from  them,  he  may  have  pre- 
served a  few  of  their  ideas,  and  thrown  others  aside,  being 
careful  not  to  offend  the  Greeks  by  a  complete  adoption  of  all 
the  points  of  the  philosophy  of  the  Jews,  who  were  in  bad 
repute  with  the  multitude,  on  account  of  the  foreign  character 
of  their  laws  and  their  peculiar  polity.  The  present,  however, 
is  not  the  proper  time  for  explaining  either  the  myth  of  Plato, 
or  the  story  of  the  serpent  and  the  paradise  of  God,  and  all 
that  is  related  to  have  taken  place  in  it,  as  in  our  exposition  of 
the  book  of  Genesis  we  have  especially  occupied  ourselves  as 
we  best  could  with  these  matters. 

Chapter  xl. 

But  as  he  asserts  that  "  the  Mosaic  narrative  most  impiously 
represents  God  as  in  a  state  of  weakness  from  the  very  com- 
mencement [of  things],  and  as  unable  to  gain  over  [to  obe- 
dience] even  one  single  man  whom  He  Himself  had  formed," 

^  Boherellus,  quern  Ruseus  sequitur,  in  notis;  "Ante  voces:  t/»«  Tp6-ov, 
videtur  deesse :  dctvy^ucovrcn,  aut  quid  simile." — Lommatzsch. 


206  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

we  say  in  answer  that  tlie  objection  ^  is  much  the  same  as  if  one 
were  to  find  fault  with  the  existence  of  evil,  which  God  has  not 
been  able  to  prevent  even  in  the  case  of  a  single  individual, 
so  that  one  man  might  be  found  from  the  very  beginning  of 
things  who  was  born  into  the  world  untainted  by  sin.  For  as 
those  whose  business  it  is  to  defend  the  doctrine  of  providence 
do  so  by  means  of  arguments  v.'hich  are  not  to  be  despised,^ 
so  also  the  subjects  of  Adam  and  his  son  will  be  philosophically 
dealt  with  by  those  who  are  aware  that  in  the  Hebrew  language 
Adam  signifies  man ;  and  that  in  those  parts  of  the  narrative 
which  appear  to  refer  to  Adam  as  an  individual,  Moses  is  dis- 
coursing upon  the  nature  of  man  in  general.^  For  "  in  Adam" 
(as  the  Scripture  ^  says)  "  all  die,"  and  were  condemned  in  the 
likeness  of  Adam's  transgression,  the  word  of  God  asserting 
this  not  so  much  of  one  ijarticular  individual  as  of  the  zvhole 
human  race.  F-or  in  the  connected  series  of  statements  which 
appears  to  apply  as  to  one  particular  individual,  the  curse 
pronounced  upon  Adam  is  regarded  as  common  to  all  [the 
members  of  the  race],  and  what  was  spoken  with  reference  to 
the  woman  is  spoken  of  every  woman  without  exception.^  And 
the  expulsion  of  the  man  and  woman  from  paradise,  and  their 
being  clothed  with  tunics  of  skins  (which  God,  because  of  the 
transgression  of  men,  made  for  those  who  had  sinned),  contain 
a  certain  secret  and  mystical  doctrine  (far  transcending  that  of 
Plato)  of  the  soul's  losing  its  wings,^  and  being  borne  down- 
wards to  earth,  until  it  can  lay  hold  of  some  stable  resting-place. 

Chapter  xli. 

After  this  he  continues  as  follows :  "  They  speak,  in  the 
next  place,  of  a  deluge,  and  of  a  monstrous  ^  ark,  having  within 
it  all  things,  and  of  a  dove  and  a  crow^  as  messengers,  falsi- 
fying and  recklessly  altering  ^  the  story  of  Deucalion ;  not  ex- 

^  TO  T\syousvo'j.  "  ivx.cira!ppovy,rae. 

^  (pvaio'hoye^  Mavcrr,;  to.  -ttsoI  tyj;  roZ  d'jSpuTTOv  C-jaiu;. 
*  Cf.  1  Cor.  XV.  22  with  Rom.  v.  14.  ^  oi>:<.  'iart  x.ciff  li;  ov  T^iySTXt. 

'^  -TTTspoppvovan^.  This  is  a  correction  for  '7;-r£pofvoiia-/i;,  the  textual  reading 
in  the  Benedictiue  and  Spencer's  odd. 

'  dxy^iKorou.  *  Kopuiii}. 

^  vccpu.-jcupoi-TOvrii  xctl  pxoiovpyovVTis. 


i 


Book  iv.]  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  207 

pecting,  I  suppose,  that  these  things  ayouIcI  come  to  h'ght,  but 
imagining  that  they  were  inventing  stories  merely  for  young 
children."  Now  in  these  remarks  observe  the  hostility — so 
unbecoming  a  philosopher — displayed  by  this  man  towards  this 
very  ancient  Jewish  narrative.  For,  not  being  able  to  say  any- 
thing against  the  history  of  the  deluge,  and  not  perceiving  what\ 
he  might  have  urged  against  the  ark  and  its  dimensions, — 
viz.  that,  according  to  the  general  opinion,  which  accepted  the 
statements  that  it  was  three  hundred  cubits  in  length,  and  fifty  s 
in  breadth,  and  thirty  in  height,  it  was_mipossible_to_oiaintain  J^ 
that  it  contained  £all]  the  animals  that  were  upon  the  earth, 
fourteen  specimens  of  every  clean  and  four  of  every  unclean 
beast, — he  merely  termed  it  "  monstrous,  containing  all  things 
within  it."  Now  wherein  was  its  "  monstrous  "  character,  seeing 
it  is  related  to  have  been  a  hundred  years  in  building,  and  to 
have  had  the  three  hundred  cubits  of  its  length  and  the  fifty  of 
its  breadth  contracted,  until  the  thirty  cubits  of  its  height  ter- 
minated in  a  top  one  cubit  long  and  one  cubit  broad  ?  Why 
should  we  not  rather  admire  a  structure .  which  resembled  an 
extensive  city,  if  its  measurements  be  taken  to  mean  what  they 
(  are  capable  of  meaning,^  so  that  it  was  nine  myriads  of  cubits 
long  in  the  base,  and  two  thousand  five  hundred  in  breadth  ?  '  '"*^ 
And  why  should  we  not  admire  the  design  evinced  in  having 
it  so  compactly  built,  and  rendered  capable  of  sustaining  a 
tempest  which  caused  a  deluge  ?  For  it  was  not  daubed  with 
pitch,  or  any  material  of  that  kind,  but  was  securely  coated 
with  bitumen.  And  is  it  not  a  subject  of  admiration,  that  by 
the  providential  arrangement  of  God,  the  elements  of  all  the  'fv 
races  were  brought  into  it,  that  the  earth  might  receive  again 
the  seeds  of  all  living  things,  while  God  made  use  of  a  most 
righteous  man  to  be  the  progenitor  of  those  who  were  to  be 
born  after  the  deluge  ? 

Chapter  xlii. 

In  order  to  show  that  he  had  read  the  book  of  Genesis,  Celsus 
rejects  the  story  of  the  dove,  although  unable  to  adduce  any 
reason  which  might  prove  it  to  be  a  fiction.  In  the  next  place, 
as  his  habit  is,  in  order  to  put  the  narrative  in  a  more  ridiculous 


208  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

li^ht,  he  converts  tlie  "  raven  "  into  a  "  crow,"  and  imagines  that 
Moses  so  wrote,  having  recklessly  altered  the  accounts  related 
of  the  Grecian  Deucalion ;  unless  perhaps  he  regards  the  nar- 
rative as  not  having  proceeded  from  Moses,  but  from  several 
individuals,  as  appears  from  his  employing  the  plural  number 
in  the  expressions,  "  falsifying  and  recklessly  altering  the  story 
of  Deucalion,"  ^  as  well  as  from  the  words,  ''  For  they  did  not 
expect,  I  suppose,  that  these  things  would  come  to  light."  But 
how  should  they,  who  gave  their  Scriptures  to  the  loliole  nation, 
not  expect  that  they  Avould  come  to  light,  and  who  predicted, 
moreover,  that  this  religion  should  be  proclaimed  to  all  nations  ? 
Jesus  declared,  "The  kingdom  of  God  shall  be  taken  from 
you,  and  given  to  a  nation  bringing  forth  the  fruits  thereof  ; "  ^ 
and  in  uttering  these  words  to  the  Jews,  what  other  meaning 
did  He  intend  to  convey  than  this,  viz.  that  He  Himself  should, 
through  His  divine  power,  bring  forth  into  light  the  whole  of 
the  Jewish  Scriptures,  which  contain  the  mysteries  of  the  king- 
dom of  God?  If,  then,  they  peruse  the  Theogonies  of  the 
Greeks,  and  the  stories  about  the  twelve  gods,  they  impart  to 
them  an  air  of  dignity,  by  investing  them  with  an  allegorical 
signification ;  but  when  they  wish  to  throw  contempt  upon  our 
biblical  narratives,  they  assert  that  they  are  fables,  clumsily 
invented  for  infant  children  ! 

Chapter  xliit. 

"  Altogether  absurd,  and  out  of  season,"  ^  he  continues,  "  is 
the  [account  of  the]  begetting  of  children,"  where,  although  he 
has  mentioned  no  names,  it  is  evident  that  he  is  referring  to  the 
history  of  Abraham  and  Sarah.  Cavilling  also  at  the  "  con- 
spiracies of  the  brothers,"  he  alludes  either  to  the  story  of  Cain 
plotting  against  Abel,"*  or,  in  addition,  to  that  of  Esau  against 
Jacob  ;  ^  and  [speaking]  of  "  a  father's  sorrow,"  he  probably 
refers  to  that  of  Isaac  on  account  of  the  absence  of  Jacob,  and 
perhaps  also  to  that  of  Jacob  because  of  Joseph  having  been 
sold  into  Egypt.  And  when  relating  the  "  crafty  procedure  of 
mothers,"  I  suppose  he  means  the  conduct  of  Rebecca,  who 
contrived  that  the  blessing  of  Isaac  should  descend,  not  upon 

*  'TtapctXiCtpocTTOVTi:  kuI  pcthiovpyovvTsi.  ~  Cf.  Matt.  XXI.  4o. 

3  iio:pov.  4  Cf.  Gen.  iv.  8.  ^  Cf.  Gen.  xxi.  2. 


Book  iv.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  209 

Esau,  but  upon  Jacob.  Now  if  we  assert  tliat  in  all  these  cases 
God  interposed  in  a  very  marked  degree/  what  absurdity  do  we 
commit,  seeing  we  are  persuaded  that  He  never  withdraws  His 
providence^  from  those  who  devote  themselves  to  Him  in  an 
honourable  and  vigorous^  life?  He  ridicules,  moreover,  the 
acquisition  of  property  made  by  Jacob  while  living  with  Laban, 
not  understanding  to  what  these  words  refer  :  "  And  those 
which  had  no  spots  were  Laban's,  and  those  which  were  spotted 
were  Jacob's  ;"*  and  he  says  that  "  God  presented  his  sons  with 
asses,  and  sheep,  and  camels,"  ®  and  did  not  see  that  "  all  these 
things  happened  unto  them  for  ensamples,  and  were  written  for 
our  sake,  upon  whom  the  ends  of  the  world  are  come."  ^  The 
varying  customs  [prevailing  among  the  different  nations]  be- 
coming famous,^  are  regulated  by  the  word  of  God,  being  given 
as  a  possession  to  him  who  is  figuratively  termed  Jacob.  For 
those  who  become  converts  to  Christ  from  among  the  heathen, 
are  indicated  by  the  history  of  Laban  and  Jacob. 

Chapter  xliv. 

And  erring  widely  from  the  meaning  of  Scripture,  he  says 
that  "  God  gave  wells  ^  also  to  the  righteous."  Now  he  did 
not  observe  that  the  righteous  do  not  construct  cisterns,''  but 
dig  wells,  seeking  to  discover  the  inherent  ground  and  source 
of  potable  blessings,^"  inasmuch  as  they  receive  in  a  figurative 
sense  the  commandment  which  enjoins,  "  Drink  waters  from 
your  own  vessels,  and  from  your  own  wells  of  fresh  water. 
Let  not  your  water  be  poured  out  beyond  your  own  fountain, 

^  ippufiiva;. 

*  Cf.  Gen.  XXX.  42  (LXX.).      "  The  feebler  were  Laban's,  and  the 
stronger  Jacob's  "  (Auth.  Vers.). 
5  Cf.  Gen.  XXX.  43. 
«  Cf.  1  Cor.  X.  11. 

"TTup  o'l;  r»  toikI'Kx  'Jjd/i  s—iayificc  ysvo/Lisvoe,  rqi  Aoyai  roD  Qiov  TroXtTSvsrcci, 
ovOi'jTO,  KTY.atg  ru  rpoTri-ycoig  x.x'Kovf/.syu  'iciy.aijS:  eT7i<7-/iy.x  is  the  term  employed 
to  denote  the  "  spotted  "  cattle  of  Laban,  and  is  here  used  by  Origen  in  its 
figurative  sense  of  "distinguished,"  thus  playing  on  the  double  meaning  of 
the  word, 

8  (ppUrx.  9  ■hi.x.MVi. 

T'/jy  ivvrnp'/^ovaxv  yriU  y.xl  cipy^'^v  rZv  -TTOTlf/MV  dydSZu.      BoherelluS  pro- 
poses :  Tr,v  ivv7:a.p-)(,ovaxv  -TT/iy^u  kxI  dpy^rrj  rZv  TiroTifiiav  Coxzuv, 
OKIG. — VOL.  II.  O 


210  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

but  let  it  pass  into  your  own  streets.  Let  it  belong  to  you 
alone,  and  let  no  alien  partake  with  thee."^  Scripture  fre- 
quently makes  use  of  tlie  histories  of  real  events,  in  order  to 
present  to  view  more  important  truths,  which  are  but  obscurely 
intimated ;  and  of  this  kind  are  the  narratives  relating  to  the 
"  wells,"  and  to  the  "  marriages,"  and  to  the  various  acts  of 
"  sexual  intercourse  "  recorded  of  righteous  persons,  respecting 
which,  however,  it  will  be  more  seasonable  to  offer  an  explana- 
tion in  the  exegetical  writings  referring  to  those  very  passages. 
But  that  wells  were  constructed  by  righteous  men  in  the  land 
of  the  Philistines,  as  related  in  the  book  of  Genesis,^  is  manifest 
from  the  wonderful  wells  which  are  shown  at  Ascalon,  and 
which  are  deserving  of  mention  on  account  of  their  structure, 
so  foreign  and  peculiar  compared  with  that  of  other  wells. 
Moreover,  that  both  young  women  ^  and  female  servants  are  to 
be  understood  metaphorically,  is  not  our  doctrine  merely,  but 
one  which  we  have  received  from  the  beginning  from  wise 
men,  among  whom  a  certain  one  said,  when  exhorting  his 
hearers  to  investigate  the  figurative  meaning:  "Tell  me,  ye 
that  read  the  law,  do  ye  not  hear  the  law?  For  it  is  written 
that  Abraham  had  two  sons ;  the  one  by  a  bond  maid,  the  other 
by  a  free  woman.  But  he  who  was  of  the  bond  woman  was 
born  after  the  flesh ;  but  he  of  the  free  woman  was  by  promise. 
Which  things  are  an  allegory :  for  these  are  the  two  covenants  ; 
the  one  from  the  Mount  Sinai,  which  gendereth  to  bondage, 
which  is  Agar."  ^  And  a  little  after,  "  But  Jerusalem  which 
is  above  is  free,  which  is  the  mother  of  iis  all."  And  any  one 
who  will  take  up  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  may  learn  how 
the  passages  relating  to  the  "  marriages,"  and  the  intercourse 
with  "  the  maid-servants,"  have  been  allegorized ;  the  Scripture 
desiring  us  to  imitate  not  the  literal  acts  of  those  who  did  these 
things,  but  (as  the  apostles  of  Jesus  are  accustomed  to  call 
them)  the  spiritual. 

Chapter  xlv. 

And  whereas  Celsus  ought  to  have  recognised  the  love  of 
truth  displayed  by  the  writers  of  sacred  Scripture,  who  have 

1  Cf.  Prov.  V.  15-17.  2  cf.  Gen.  xxvi.  15. 

3  vvf^Cpu;.  •*  Cf.  Gal.  iv.  iil-24. 


Book  iv.]  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  211 

not  concealed  even  Avliat  is  to  their  discredit/  and  thus  been  led 
to  accept  the  other  and  more  marvellous  accounts  as  true,  he 
has  done  the  reverse,  and  has  characterized  the  story  of  Lot 
and  his  daughters  (without  examining  cither  its  hteral  or  its 
figurative  meaning)  as  "worse  than  the  crimes  of  Tliyestes." 
The  fiofurative  signification  of  that  passage  of  history  it  is  not 
necessary  at  present  to  exphain,  nor  what  is  meant  by  Sodom, 
and  by  the  words  of  the  angels  to  him  who  was  escaping  thence, 
when  they  said :  "  Look  not  behind  thee,  neither  stay  thou  in 
all  the  surrounding  district;  escape  to  the  mountain,  lest  thou 
be  consumed ; "  ^  nor  what  is  intended  by  Lot  and  his  wife, 
who  became  a  pillar  of  salt  because  she  turned  back ;  nor  by 
his  daughters  intoxicating  their  father,  that  they  might  become 
mothers  by  him.  But  let  us  in  a  few  words  soften  down  the  7" 
repulsive  features  of  the  history.  The  nature  of  actions — good, 
bad,  and  indifferent — has  been  investigated  by  the  Greeks ;  and 
the  more  successful  of  such  investigators  ^  lay  down  the  prin- 
ciple that  intention  alone  gives  to  actions  the  character  of  good 
or  bad,  and  that  all  things  which  are  done  without  a  purpose 
are,  strictly  speaking,  indifferent;  that  when  the  intention  is 
directed  to  a  becoming  end,  it  is  praisew^orthy ;  when  the  re- 
verse, it  is  censurable.  They  have  said,  accordingly,  in  the 
section  relating  to  "  things  nidlff erent,"  that,  strictly  speaking, 
for  a  man  to  have  sexual  intercourse  with  his  daughters  is  a  ) 
thing  indifferent,  although  such  a  thing  ought  not  to  take  place  '' 
in  established  communities.  And  for  the  sake  of  hypothesis,  / 
in  order  to  show^  that  such  an  act  belongs  to  the  class  of  things 
indifferent,  they  have  assumed  the  case  of  a  wise  man  being 
left  with  an  only  daughter,  the  entire  human  race  besides 
having  perished ;  and  they  put  the  question  whether  the  father 
can  fitly  have  intercourse  with  his  daughter,  in  order,  agree- 
ably to  the  supposition,  to  prevent  the  extermination  of  man- 
kind. Is  this  to  be  accounted  sound  reasoning  among  the 
Greeks,  and  to  be  commended  by  the  influential  *  sect  of  the 
Stoics ;  but  when  young  maidens,  who  had  heard  of  the  burning 
of  the  world,  though  without  comprehending  [Its  full  meaning], 
saw  fire  devastating  their  city  and  country,  and  supposing  that 

^  Tx  xTrifi^ui'vovTce.  "  Geu.  xix.  17. 

^  0/  £x/Tf  y;^;««i'OJ/T£f  ye  avrZu.  ■*  cvx,  £uK.aTU(pp6iiYjTog  ulrois. 


212  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

the  only  means  left  of  rekindling  the  flame  ^  of  human  life  lay 
in  their  father  and  themselves,  should,  on  such  a  supposition, 
conceive  the  desire  that  the  world  should  continue,  shall  their 
conduct  be  deemed  worse  than  that  of  the  wise  man  who, 
according  to  the  hypothesis  of  the  Stoics,  acts  becomingly  in 
having  intercourse  with  his  daughters  in  tlie  case  already  sup- 
posed, of  all  men  having  been  destroyed?  I  atn  not  unaware, 
however,  that  some  have  taken  offence  at  the  desire^  of  Lot's 
daughters,  and  have  regarded  their  conduct  as  very  wicked ; 
and  have  said  that  two  accursed  nations — Moab  and  Ammon — 
have  sprung  from  that  unhallowed  intercourse.  And  yet  truly 
sacred  Scripture  is  nowhere  found  distinctly  approving  of  their 
conduct  as  good,  nor  yet  passing  sentence  upon  it  as  blame- 
worthy. Nevertheless,  whatever  be  the  real  state  of  the  case, 
it  admits  not  only  of  a  -figurative  meaning,  but  also  of  being 
defended  on  its  own  merits.^ 

Chapter  xlvi. 

Celsus,  moreover,  sneers  at  the  "hatred"  of  Esau  (to  which, 
I  suppose,  he  refers)  against  Jacob,  although  he  was  a  man 
who,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  is  acknowledged  to  have  been 
wicked ;  and  not  clearly  stating  the  story  of  Simeon  and  Levi, 
who  sallied  out  [on  the  Shechemites]  on  account  of  the  insult 
offered  to  their  sister,  who  had  been  violated  by  the  son  of  the 
Shechemite  king,  he  inveighs  against  their  conduct.  And  pass- 
ing on,  he  speaks  of  "brothers  selling  [one  another],"  alluding 
to  the  sons  of  Jacob  ;  and  of  "  a  brother  sold,"  Joseph  to  wit ; 
and  of  "  a  father  deceived,"  viz.  Jacob,  because  he  entertained 
no  suspicion  of  his  sons  when  they  showed  him  Joseph's  coat 
of  many  colours,  but  believed  their  statement,  and  mourned  for 
his  son,  who  was  a  slave  in  Egypt,  as  if  he  were  dead.  And 
observe  in  what  a  spirit  of  hatred  and  falsehood  Celsus  collects 
together  the  statements  of  the  sacred  history ;  so  that  wherever 
it  appeared  to  him  to  contain  a  ground  of  accusation  he  pro- 
duces the  passage,  but  wherever  there  is  any  exhibition  of 
virtue  worthy  of  mention — as  when  Joseph  would  not  gratify 
the  lust  of  his  mistress,  refusing  alike  her  allurements  and  her 

^  ixii  Oi  Ti'jx  Kcci  Kxf  0C.V70  oLr: (I'K'j-/ 1 xv . 


Book  iv.]  OlilGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  213 

threats — lie  does  not  even  mention  the  circumstance  !  lie 
should  see,  indeed,  that  the  conduct  of  Joseph  was  far  superior 
to  what  is  related  of  Bellerophon,-^  since  the  former  chose 
rather  to  be  shut  up  in  prison  than  do  violence  to  his  virtue. 
For  although  he  might  have  offered  a  just  defence  against 
his  accuser,  he  magnanimously  remained  silent,  entrusting  his 
cause  to  God. 

CiiArxEi:  XLVii. 

Celsus  next,  for  form's  sake,"  and  with  great  want  of  pre- 
cision, speaks  of  "the  dreams  of  the  chief  butler  and  chief 
baker,  and  of  Pharaoh,  and  of  the  explanation  of  them,  in  con- 
sequence of  wdiich  Joseph  was  taken  out  of  prison  in  order  to 
be  entrusted  by  Pharaoh  with  the  second  place  in  Egypt." 
What  absurdity,  then,  did  the  history  contain,  looked  at  even 
in  itself,  that  it  should  be  adduced  as  matter  of  accusation  by 
this  Celsus,  who  gave  the  title  of  True  Discourse  to  a  treatise 
not  containing  doctrines,  but  full  of  charges  against  Jews  and 
Christians?  He  adds:  "He  who  had  been  sold  behaved  kindly 
to  his  brethren  (who  had  sold  him),  when  they  were  suffering 
from  hunger,  and  had  been  sent  with  their  asses  to  purcliase 
[provisions];"  although  he  has  not  related  these  occurrences  [in 
his  treatise].  But  he  does  mention  the  circumstance  of  Joseph 
making  himself  known  to  his  brethren,  although  I  know  not 
with  what  view,  or  what  absurdity  he  can  point  out  in  such  an 
occurrence ;  since  it  is  impossible  for  Momus  himself,  we  might 
say,  to  find  any  reasonable  fault  with  events  which,  apart  from 
their  figurative  meaning,  present  so  much  that  is  attractive. 
He  relates,  further,  that  "  Joseph,  who  had  been  sold  as  a  slave, 
was  restored  to  liberty,  and  went  up  with  a  solemn  procession 
to  his  father's  funeral,"  and  thinks  that  the  narrative  furnishes 
matter  of  accusation  against  us,  as  he  makes  the  following 
remark  :  "  By  whom  (Joseph,  namely)  the  illustrious  and 
divine  nation  of  the  Jews,  after  growing  up  in  Egypt  to  be  a 
multitude  of  people,  was  commanded  to  sojourn  somewhere 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  kingdom,  and  to  pasture  their  flocks 
in  districts  of  no  repute."  Now  the  words,  "  that  they  were 
commanded  to  pasture  their  flocks  in  districts  of  no  repute," 
^  Cf.  Homer,  Iliad,  ri.  160.  2  ^^[^,  hiy.iv. 


214  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

are  an  addition,  proceeding  from  his  own  feelings  of  hatred ; 
for  he  has  not  shown  that  Goshen,  the  district  of  Egypt,  is  a 
place  of  no  repute.  The  exodus  of  the  people  from  Egypt  he 
calls  a  flight,  not  at  all  remembering  what  is  written  in  the 
book  of  Exodus  regarding  the  departure  of  the  Hebrews  from 
the  land  of  Egypt.  We  have  enumerated  these  instances  to 
show  that  what,  literally  considered,  might  appear  to  furnish 
ground  of  accusation,  Celsus  has  not  succeeded  in  proving  to 
be  either  objectionable  or  foolish,  having  utterly  failed  to  estab- 
lish the  evil  character,  as  he  regards  it,  of  our  Scriptures. 

Chapter  xlviii. 

In  the  next  place,  as  if  he  had  devoted  himself  solely  to  the 
manifestation  of  his  hatred  and  dislike  of  the  Jewish  and 
Christian  doctrine,  he  says  :  "  The  more  modest  of  Jewish  and 
Christian  writers  give  all  these  things  an  allegorical  meaning ;" 
and,  "Because  they  are  ashamed  of  these  things,  they  take 
refuge  in  allegory."  Now  one  might  say  to  him,  that  if  we 
must  admit  fables  and  fictions,  whether  written  with  a  con- 
cealed meaning  or  with  any  other  object,  to  be  shameful  narra- 
tives wdien  taken  in  their  literal  acceptation,^  of  what  histories 
can  this  be  said  more  truly  than  of  the  Grecian  1  In  these 
histories,  gods  who  are  sons  castrate  the  gods  who  are  their 
fathers,  and  gods  who  are  parents  devour  their  own  children, 
and  a  goddess-mother  gives  to  the  ''  father  of  gods  and  men  " 
a  stone  to  swallow  instead  of  his  own  son,  and  a  father  has 
intercourse  with  his  daughter,  and  a  wife  binds  her  own  husband, 
having  as  her  allies  in  the  work  the  brother  of  the  fettered  god 
and  his  own  daughter !  But  why  should  I  enumerate  these 
absurd  stories  of  the  Greeks  regarding  their  gods,  which  are 
most  shameful  in  themselves,  even  though  invested  with  an 
allegorical  meaning?  [Take  the  instance]  where  Chrysippus 
of  Soli,  who  is  considered  to  be  an  ornament  of  the  Stoic  sect, 
on  account  of  his  numerous  and  learned  treatises,  explains  a 
picture  at  Samos,  in  which  Juno  was  represented  as  committing 
unspeakable  abominations  with  Jupiter.  This  reverend  philo- 
sopher says  in  his  treatises,  that  matter  receives  the  spermatic 
words-  of  the  god,  and  retains  them  within  herself,  in  order  to 


Book  iv.J  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  215 

ornament  the  universe.  For  in  the  picture  at  Samos  Juno 
represents  matter,  and  Jupiter  God.  Now  it  is  on  account 
of  these,  and  of  countless  other  similar  fables,  that  we  would 
not  even  in  word  call  the  God  of  all  things  Jupiter,  or 
the  sun  Apollo,  or  the  moon  Diana.  But  we  offer  to  the 
Creator  a  woi'ship  which  is  pure,  and  speak  with  religious 
respect  of  His  noble  works  of  creation,  not  contaminating  even 
in  word  the  things  of  God ;  approving  of  the  language  of  Plato 
in  the  Philehiis,  who  would  not  admit  that  pleasure  was  a 
goddess,  "  so  great  is  my  reverence,  Protarchus,"  he  says,  "  for 
the  very  names  of  the  gods."  We  verily  entertain  such  reve- 
rence for  the  name  of  God,  and  for  His  noble  works  of  creation, 
that  we  would  not,  even  under  pretext  of  an  allegorical  mean- 
ing, admit  any  fable  which  might  do  injury  to  the  young. 

Chapter  xlix. 

If  Celsus  had  read  the  Scriptures  in  an  impartial  spirit, 
he  would  not  have  said  that  "  our  writings  are  incapable  of 
admitting  an  allegorical  meaning."  For  from  the  prophetic 
Scriptures,  in  which  historical  events  are  recorded  (not  from 
the  historical),  it  is  possible  to  be  convinced  that  the  historical 
portions  also  were  written  with  an  allegorical  purpose,  and  were 
most  skilfully  adapted  not  only  to  the  multitude  of  the  simpler 
believers,  but  also  to  the  few  who  are  able  or  willing  to  inves- 
tigate matters  in  an  intelligent  spirit.  If,  indeed,  those  writers 
at  the  present  day  wdio  are  deemed  by  Celsus  the  "  more  modest 
of  the  Jews  and  Christians"  were  the  [first]  allegorical  inter- 
preters of  our  Scriptures,  he  would  have  the  appearance,  per- 
haps, of  making  a  plausible  allegation.  But  since  the  very 
fathers  and  authors  of  the  doctrines  themselves  give  them  an 
allegorical  signification,  what  other  inference  can  be  drawn  than 
that  they  were  composed  so  as  to  be  allegorically  understood 
in  their  chief  signification  ?  ^  And  we  shall  adduce  a  few 
instances  out  of  very  many  to  show  that  Celsus  brings  an  empty 
charge  against  the  Scriptures,  when  he  says  "  that  they  are 
incapable  of  admitting  an  allegorical  meaning."  Paul,  the 
apostle  of  Jesus,  says :  "  It  is  written  in  the  law,  Thou  slialt 
not  muzzle  the  mouth  of  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corn. 

1  x,ur»  TQ'j  '77ocirr/ovy.iuov  uovv. 


2 1 6  OBIGEN  A  GAINST  GELS  US.  [Book  i v. 

Doth  God  take  care  for  oxen?  or  saitli  Pie  it  altogether  for  our 
sakes  ?  For  our  sakes,  no  doubt,  this  is  written,  that  he  that 
plougheth  should  plough  in  hope,  and  he  that  thresheth  in  hope 
of  partaking."  ^  And  in  another  passage  the  same  Paul  says : 
"  For  it  is  written,  For  this  cause  shall  a  man  leave  his  father 
and  mother,  and  shall  be  joined  to  his  wife,  and  they  two  shall 
be  one  flesh.  This  is  a  great  mystery ;  but  I  speak  concerning 
Christ  and  the  church.""  And  again,  in  another  place:  "We 
know  that  all  our  fathers  were  under  the  cloud,  and  all  passed 
through  the  sea;  and  were  all  baptized  unto  Moses  in  the  cloud, 
and  in  the  sea."^  Then,  explaining  the  history  relating  to  the 
manna,  and  that  referring  to  the  miraculous  issue  of  the  water 
from  the  I'ock,  he  continues  as  follows:  "And  they  did  all  eat 
the  same  spiritual  meat,  and  did  all  drink  the  same  spiritual 
drink.  For  they  drank  of  that  spiritual  rock  that  followed 
them,  and  that  rock  was  Christ."^  Asaph,  moreover,  who,  in 
showing  the  histories  in  Exodus  and  Numbers  to  be  full  of 
difficulties  and  parables,^  begins  in  the  following  manner,  as 
recorded  in  the  book  of  Psalms,  where  he  is  about  to  make 
mention  of  these  things  :  "  Give  ear,  O  my  people,  to  my  law  : 
incline  your  ears  to  the  words  of  my  mouth.  I  will  open  my 
mouth  in  parables ;  I  will  utter  dark  sayings  of  old,  which  we 
have  heard  and  known,  and  our  fathers  have  told  us."  ^ 

Chapter  l. 

Moreover,  if  the  law  of  Moses  had  contained  nothing  which 
was  to  be  understood  as  having  a  secret  meaning,  the  prophet 
would  not  have  said  in  his  prayer  to  God,  "  Open  Thou  mine 
eyes,  and  I  will  behold  wondrous  things  out  of  Thy  law ; "  ■^ 
whereas  he  knew  that  there  was  a  veil  of  ignorance  lying  upon 
the  heart  of  those  who  read  but  do  not  understand  the  figurative 
meaning,  which  veil  is  taken  away  by  the  gift  of  God,  when 
He  hears  him  who  has  done  all  that  he  can,^  and  who  by  reason 
of  habit  has  his  senses  exercised  to  distinguish  between  ffood 

1  Cf.  1  Cor.  ix.  9,  10,  and  Deut.  xxv.  4. 

2  Cf.  Eph.  V.  31,  32.     Cf.  Geu.  ii.  2-1.         3  cf.  i  Cor.  x.  1,  2. 

^  Cf.  1  Cor.  X.  3,  4.  ^  ^iCo,3A55,m«-«  kxI  -Trapetfio'h.u.L 

c  Cf.  Ps.  Ixxxvii.  1,  2.  "  Cf.  Ps.  cxix.  18. 

^  iT^oiv  ivccKovctvi  roll  i^a-p   buvtoii  rravrx  'Tror/.au.VTOS. 


Book  iv.]  OlilGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  217 

and  evil,  and  who  continually  utters  the  prayer,  '•'  Open  Thou 
mine  eyes,  and  I  will  behold  wondrous  things  out  of  Thy  law." 
And  who  is  there  that,  on  reading  of  the  dragon  that  lives  in 
the  Egyptian  river,^  and  of  the  fishes  which  lurk  in  his  scales, 
or  of  the  excrement  of  Pharaoh  which  fills  the  mountains  of 
Egypt,^  is  not  led  at  once  to  inquire  who  he  is  that  fills  the 
Egyptian  mountains  with  his  stinking  excrement,  and  wliat  the 
Eg}-ptian  mountains  are ;  and  what  the  rivers  in  Egypt  are,  of 
which  the  aforesaid  Pharaoh  boastfully  says,  ''The  rivers  are 
mine,  and  I  have  made  them  ; " "  and  who  the  dragon  is,  and 
the  fishes  in  its  scales, — and  this  so  as  to  harmonize  with  the 
interpretation  to  be  given  of  the  rivers?  But  why  establish 
at  greater  length  what  needs  no  demonstration?  For  to  these 
things  applies  the  saying :  '-  AYlio  is  wise,  and  he  shall  under- 
stand these  things  ?  or  who  is  prudent,  and  he  shall  know 
them  ?  "  *  Now  I  have  gone  at  some  length  into  the  subject, 
because  I  wished  to  show  the  unsoundness  of  the  assertion  of 
Celsus,  that  "  the  more  modest  among  the  Jews  and  Christians 
endeavour  somehow  to  cive  these  stories  an  allecrorical  sionifica- 
tion,  although  some  of  them  do  not  admit  of  this,  but  on  the 
contrary  are  exceedingly  silly  inventions."  Much  rather  are 
the  stories  of  the  Greeks  not  only  very  silly,  but  very  impious 
inventions.  For  our  narratives  keep  expressly  in  view  the 
multitude  of  simpler  believers,  which  was  not  done  by  those 
who  invented  the  Grecian  fables.  And  therefore  not  without 
propriety  does  Plato  expel  from  his  state  all  fables  and  poems 
of  such  a  nature  as  those  of  which  we  have  been  speaking. 

Chapter  li. 

Celsus  appears  to  me  to  have  heard  that  there  are  treatises 
in  existence  which  contain  allegorical  explanations  of  the  law 
of  !Moses.  These,  however,  he  could  not  have  read ;  for  if  he 
had,  he  would  not  have  said  :  "  The  allegorical  explanations, 
however,  which  have  been  devised,  are  much  more  shameful 
and  absurd  than  the  fables  themselves,  inasmuch  as  they  endea- 
vour to  unite  with  marvellous  and  altogether  insensate  folly 
things  which  cannot  at  all  be  made  to  harmonize."     He  seems 

1  Cf.  Ezek.  xxis.  3.  2  cf.  Ezek.  xxxii.  6. 

3  Cf.  Ezek.  xxix.  3.  *  Cf.  Hos.  xiv.  9. 


218  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

to  refer  in  these  words  to  the  "^-orks  of  Philo,  or  to  those  of 
still  older  writers,  such  as  Aristobulus.  But  I  conjecture  that 
Celsus  has  not  read  their  books,  since  it  appears  to  me  that  in 
many  passages  they  have  so  successfully  hit  the  meaning  [of 
tlie  sacred  writers],  that  even  Grecian  philosophers  would  have 
been  captivated  by  their  explanations  ;  for  in  their  writings 
we  find  not  only  a  polished  style,  but  exquisite  thoughts  and 
doctrines,  and  a  rational  use  of  what  Celsus  imagines  to  be 
fables  in  the  sacred  writings.  I  know,  moreover,  that  Nume- 
nius  tlie  Pythagorean — a  surpassingly  excellent  expounder  of 
Plato,  and  who  held  a  foremost  place  as  a  teacher  of  the 
doctrines  of  Pythagoras — in  many  of  his  works  quotes  from  the 
writings  of  Moses  and  the  prophets,  and  applies  to  the  passages 
in  question  a  not  improbable  allegorical  meaning,  as  in  his  work 
called  Epops,  and  in  those  which  treat  of  "  Numbers "  and  of 
"  Place."  And  in  the  third  book  of  his  dissertation  on  The  Good, 
he  quotes  also  a  narrative  regarding  Jesus — without,  however, 
mentioning  His  name — and  gives  it  an  allegorical  signification, 
whether  successfully  or  the  reverse  I  may  state  on  another 
occasion.  He  relates  also  the  account  respecting  Moses,  and 
Jannes,  and  Jambres.^  But  we  are  not  elated  on  account  of 
this  instance,  though  we  express  our  approval  of  Numenius, 
rather  than  of  Celsus  and  other  Greeks,  because  he  was  willing 
to  investigate  our  histories  from  a  desire  to  acquire  knowledge, 
and  was  [duly]  affected  by  them  as  narratives  which  were  to  be 
allegorically  understood,  and  which  did  not  belong  to  the  cate- 
gory of  foolish  compositions. 

Chapter  lit. 

After  this,  selecting  from  all  the  treatises  which  contain 
allegorical  explanations  and  interpretations,  expressed  in  a  lan- 
guage and  style  not  to  be  despised,  the  least  important,^  such 
as  might  contribute,  indeed,  to  strengthen  the  faith  of  the 
multitude  of  simple  believers,  but  were  not  adapted  to  impress 
those  of  more  intelligent  mind,  he  continues :  "  Of  such  a 
nature  do  I  know  the  work  to  be,  entitled  Controversy  helween 
one  Pcpiscus  and  Jason,  which  is  fitted  to  excite  pity  and  hatred 
instead  of  laughter.     It  is  not  my  purpose,  however,  to  confute 

^  Cf.  2  Tim.  iii.  8.  ^  to  svTiT^iaTipov. 


Book  iv.J  OIUGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  219 

the  statements  contained  in  such  works ;  for  their  fallacy  is 
manifest  to  all,  especially  if  any  one  will  have  the  patience  to 
read  the  books  themselves.  Rather  do  I  Avish  to  show  that 
Nature  teaches  this,  that  God  made  nothing  that  is  mortal,  but 
that  His  works,  whatever  they  are,  are  immortal,  and  theirs 
mortal.  And  the  soul  ^  is  the  work  of  God,  while  the  nature 
of  the  body  is  different.  And  in  this  respect  there  is  no  differ- 
ence between  the  body  of  a  bat,  or  of  a  worm,  or  of  a  frog, 
and  that  of  a  man ;  for  the  matter "  is  the  same,  and  their  cor- 
ruptible part  is  alike."  Nevertheless  I  could  wish  that  every 
one  who  heard  Celsus  declaiming  and  asserting  that  the  treatise 
entitled  Controversy  between  Jason  and  Fapiscns  recjarding 
Christ  was  fitted  to  excite  not  laughter,  but  hatred,  could  take 
the  work  into  his  hands,  and  patiently  listen  to  its  contents ; 
that,  finding  in  it  nothing  to  excite  hatred,  he  might  condemn 
Celsus  out  of  the  book  itself.  For  if  it  be  impartially  perused, 
it  will  be  found  that  there  is  nothing  to  excite  even  laughter  in 
a  work  in  which  a  Christian  is  described  as  conversing  with  a 
Jew  on  the  subject  of  the  Jewish  Scriptures,  and  proving  that 
the  predictions  regarding  Christ  fitly  apply  to  Jesus ;  although 
the  other  disputant  maintains  the  discussion  in  no  ignoble  style, 
and  in  a  manner  not  unbecoming  the  character  of  a  Jew. 

Chapter  liii. 

I  do  not  know,  indeed,  how  he  could  conjoin  things  that  do 
not  admit  of  union,  and  which  cannot  exist  together  at  the 
same  time  in  human  nature,  in  saying,  as  he  did,  that  "  the 
above  treatise  deserved  to  be  treated  both  with  pity  and  hatred." 
For  every  one  will  admit  that  he  who  is  the  object  of  pity  is 
not  at  the  same  moment  an  object  of  hatred,  and  tliat  he  who 
is  the  object  of  hatred  is  not  at  the  same  time  a  subject  of  pity. 
Celsus,  moreover,  says  that  it  was  not  his  purpose  to  refute  such 
statements,  because  he  thinks  that  their  absurdity  is  evident  to 
all,  and  that,  even  before  offering  any  logical  refutation,  they 
will  appear  to  be  bad,  and  to  merit  both  pity  and  hatred.  But 
we  invite  him  who  peruses  this  reply  of  ours  to  the  charges  of 
Celsus  to  have  patience,  and  to  listen  to  our  sacred  writings 
themselves,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  to  form  an  opinion  from 


220  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

their  contents  of  the  purpose  of  the  writers,  and  of  their 
consciences  and  disposition  of  mind  ;  for  he  will  discover  that 
they  are  men  who  strenuously  contend  for  what  they  uphold,  and 
that  some  of  them  show  that  the  history  which  they  narrate 
is  one  which  they  have  both  seen  and  experienced,^  which  was 
miraculous,  and  worthy  of  being  recorded  for  the  advantage  of 
their  future  hearers.  Will  any  one  indeed  venture  to  say  that 
it  is  not  the  source  and  fountain  of  all  blessing^  [to  men]  to 
believe  in  the  God  of  all  things,  and  to  perform  all  our  actions 
with  the  view  of  pleasing  Him  in  everything  whatever,  and 
not  to  entertain  even  a  thought  unpleasing  to  Him,  seeing  that 
not  only  our  words  and  deeds,  but  our  very  thoughts,  will 
be  the  subject  of  future  judgment?  And  what  other  argu- 
ments would  more  effectually  lead  human  nature  to  adopt  a 
virtuous  life,  than  the  belief  or  opinion  that  the  supreme  God 
beholds  all  things,  not  only  what  is  said  and  done,  but  even 
what  is  thought  by  us  ?  And  let  any  one  who  likes  com- 
pare any  other  system  which  at  the  same  time  converts  and 
ameliorates,  not  merely  one  or  two  individuals,  but,  as  far  as 
in  it  lies,  countless  numbers,  that  by  the  comparison  of  both 
methods  he  may  form  a  correct  idea  of  the  arguments  which 
dispose  to  a  virtuous  life. 

Chapter  liv. 

But  as  in  the  words  which  I  quoted  from  Celsus,  which  are  a 
paraphrase  from  the  Timceus,  certain  expressions  occur,  such 
as,  ''  God  made  nothing  mortal,  but  immortal  things  alone, 
while  mortal  things  are  the  works  of  others,  and  the  soul  is  a 
work  of  God,  but  the  nature  of  the  body  is  different,  and  there 
is  no  difference  between  the  body  of  a  man  and  that  of  a  bat, 
or  of  a  worm,  or  of  a  frog ;  for  the  matter  is  the  same,  and 
their  corruptible  part  alike," — let  us  discuss  these  points  for 
a  little ;  and  let  us  show  that  Celsus  either  does  not  disclose 
his  Epicurean  opinions,  or,  as  might  be  said  by  one  person, 
has  exchanged  them  for  better,  or,  as  another  might  say,  has 

^  The  reading  in  the  text  of  Spencer  and  of  the  Benedictine  ed.  is  kxtu- 
7iu(f)6u<;ctv,  for  which  Lommatzsch  has  adopted  the  conjecture  of  Boherelhis, 


Book  IV.]  ORIG EN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  221 

nothinor  in  common  save  the  name,  with  Celsu?,  the  Epicurean. 
For  he  ought,  in  giving  expression  to  such  opinions,  and  in 
proposing  to  contradict  not  only  us,  but  the  by  no  means 
obscure  sect  of  philosophers  who  are  the  adherents  of  Zeno  of 
Citium,  to  have  proved  that  the  bodies  of  animals  are  not  the 
work  of  God,  and  that  the  great  skill  displayed  in  their  con- 
struction did  not  proceed  from  the  highest  intelligence.  And 
he  ought  also,  with  regard  to  the  countless  diversities  of  plants, 
which  are  regulated  by  an  inherent,  incomprehensible  nature,^ 
and  which  have  been  created  for  the  by  no  means  despicable" 
use  of  man  in  general,  and  of  the  animals  which  minister  to 
man,  whatever  other  reasons  may  be  adduced  for  their  exist- 
ence,^ not  only  to  have  stated  his  opinion,  but  also  to  liave 
shown  us  that  it  was  no  perfect  intelligence  which  impressed 
these  qualities  upon  the  matter  of  plants.  And  when  he  had 
once  represented  [various]  divinities  as  the  creators  of  all  the 
bodies,  the  soul  alone  being  the  work  of  God,  why  did  not 
he,  who  separated  these  great  acts  of  creation,  and  apportioned 
them  among  a  plurality  of  creators,  next  demonstrate  by  some 
convincing  reason  the  existence  of  these  diversities  among  divi- 
nities, some  of  which  construct  the  bodies  of  men,  and  others 
— those,  say,  of  beasts  of  burden,  and  others — those  of  wild  ani- 
mals ?  And  he  who  saw  that  some  divinities  were  the  creators 
of  dragons,  and  of  asps,  and  of  basilisks,  and  others  of  each 
plant  and  herb  according  to  its  species,  ought  to  have  explained 
the  causes  of  these  diversities.  For  probably,  had  he  given 
himself  carefully  to  the  investigation  of  each  particular  point, 
he  would  either  have  observed  that  it  was  one  God  who  was  the 
creator  of  all,  and  who  made  each  thing  with  a  certain  object 
and  for  a  certain  reason ;  or  if  he  had  failed  to  observe  this,  he 
■svould  have  discovered  the  answer  which  he  ought  to  return  to 
those  who  assert  that  corruptibility  is  a  thing  indifferent  in 
its  nature  ;  and  that  there  was  no  absurdity  in  a  world  which 
consists  of  diverse  materials,  being  formed  by  one  architect, 
who  constructed  the  different  kinds  of  things  so  as  to  secure 
the  good  of  the  whole.  Or,  finally,  he  ought  to  have  expressed 
no  opinion  at  all  on  so  important  a  doctrine,  since  he  did  not 


222  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

intend  to  prove  -what  he  professed  to  demonstrate ;  unless,  in- 
deed, he  Avho  censures  others  for  professing  a  simple  faith,  would 
have  us  to  believe  his  mere  assertions,  although  he  gave  out  that 
he  would  not  merely  assert,  but  would  prove  his  assertions. 

Chapter  lv. 

But  I  maintain  that,  if  he  had  had  the  patience  (to  use  his  own 
expression)  to  listen  to  the  writings  of  Moses  and  the  prophets,  he 
would  have  had  his  attention  arrested  by  the  circumstance  that 
the  expression  "  God  made"  is  applied  to  heaven  and  earth, 
and  to  what  is  called  the  firmament,  and  also  to  the  lights  and 
stars ;  and  after  these,  to  the  great  fishes,  and  to  every  living 
thing  among  creeping  animals  which  the  waters  brought  forth 
after  their  kinds,  and  to  every  fowl  of  heaven  after  its  kind ; 
and  after  these,  to  the  wild  beasts  of  the  earth  after  their  kind, 
and  the  beasts  after  their  kind,  and  to  every  creeping  thing  upon 
the  earth  after  its  kind ;  and  last  of  all  to  man.  The  expres- 
sion "  made,"  however,  is  not  applied  to  other  things ;  but  it  is 
deemed  sufficient  to  say  regarding  light,  "  And  it  was  light;" 
and  regarding  the  one  gathering  together  of  all  the  waters  that 
are  under  the  whole  heaven,  "  It  was  so."  And  in  like  manner 
also,  with  regard  to  what  grew  upon  the  earth,  where  it  is  said, 
"  The  earth  brought  forth  grass,  and  herb  yielding  seed  after 
its  kind  and  after  its  likeness,  and  the  fruit-tree  yielding  fruit, 
whose  seed  is  in  itself,  after  its  kind,  upon  the  earth."  He 
would  have  inquired,  moreover,  whether  the  recorded  commands 
of  God  respecting  the  coming  into  existence  of  each  part  of  the 
world  were  addressed  to  one  thing  or  to  several;^  and  he  would 
not  lightly  have  charged  with  being  unintelligible,  and  as  having 
no  secret  meaning,  the  accounts  related  in  these  books,  either 
by  Moses,  or,  as  xoe  would  say,  by  the  Divine  Spirit  speaking  in 
Moses,  from  whom  also  he  derived  the  power  of  prophesying ; 
since  he  "knew  both  the  present,  and  the  future,  and  the 
past,"  in  a  higher  degree  than  those  priests  who  are  alleged  by 
the  poets  to  have  possessed  a  knowledge  of  these  things. 

Chapter  lvi. 
Moreover,  since  Celsus  asserts  that  "  the  soul  is  the  work 

^  TlVl  VI  Tiaiv. 


Book  IV.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  223 

of  God,  but  that  the  nature  of  body  is  different;  and  that  in 
til  is  respect  there  is  no  difference  between  the  body  of  a  bat,  or 
of  a  ^Yo^n,  or  of  a  frog,  and  that  of  a  man,  for  the  matter  is 
the  same,  and  their  corruptible  part  alike," — we  have  to  say  in 
answer  to  this  argument  of  his,  that  if,  since  the  same  matter 
underlies  the  body  of  a  bat,  or  of  a  worm,  or  of  a  frog,  or  of  a 
man,  these  bodies  will  differ  in  no  respect  from  one  another,  it 
is  evident  then  that  these  bodies  also  will  differ  in  no  respect 
from  the  sun,  or  the  moon,  or  the  stars,  or  the  sky,  or  any  other 
thincT  which  is  called  by  the  Greeks  a  god,  cognisable  by  the 
senses.^  For  the  same  matter,  underlying  all  bodies,  is,  pro- 
I  perly  speaking,  without  qualities  and  without  form,  and  derives 
/  its  qualities  from  some  [other]  source,  I  know  not  whence,  since  j 
I  Celsus  will  have  it  that  nothing  corruptible  can  be  the  work  of  .7" 
God.  Now  the  corruptible  part  of  everything  whatever,  being 
produced  from  the  same  underlying  matter,  must  necessarily 
he  the  same,  by  Celsus'  own  showing;  unless,  indeed,  finding 
himself  here  hard  pressed,  he  should  desert  Plato,  who  makes 
the  soul  arise  from  a  certain  bowl,^  and  take  refuge  with 
Aristotle  and  the  Peripatetics,  who  maintain  that  the  ether  is 
immoterial^  and  consists  of  a  fifth  nature,  separate  from  the 
other  four  elements,^  against  which  view  both  the  Platonists  and 
the  Stoics  have  nobly  protested.  And  we  too,  who  are  despised 
by  Celsus,  will  contravene  it,  seeing  we  are  required  to  explain 
and  maintain  the  following  statement  of  the  prophet :  "  The 
heavens  shall  perish,  but  Thou  remainest:  and  they  all  shall 
wax  old  as  a  garment ;  and  as  a  vesture  shalt  Thou  fold  them 
up,  and  they  shall  be  changed  :  but  Thou  art  the  same."^  These 
remarks,  however,  are  sufficient  in  reply  to  Celsus,  when  he 
asserts  that  "  the  soul  is  the  work  of  God,  but  that  the  nature 
of  body  is  different;"  for  from  his  argument  it  follows  that 
there  is  no  difference  between  the  body  of  a  bat,  or  of  a  worm, 
or  of  a  frog,  and  that  of  a  heavenly*'  being. 

Chapter  lvii. 

See,  then,  whether  we  ought  to  yield  to  one  who,  holding 

^  utaSriTov  deov.  -  Cf.  Plato  in  Timxo.  ^  oiuKov. 

*  TTifiTrrYi;  TTupsi  TBI  TSduxpx  dror^iio.  shell  (pVTiug. 

«  Cf.  Ps.  cii.  26,  27.  «  ^ig.piov. 


224  OFJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

sucli  opinions,  calumniates  the  Christians,  and  thus  abandon  a 
doctrine  which  explains  the  difference  existing  among  bodies 
as  due  to  the  different  qualities,  internal  and  external,  which 
are  implanted  in  them.  For  we,  too,  know  that  there  are 
"bodies  celestial,  and  bodies  terrestrial;"  and  that  "the  glory 
of  the  celestial  is  one,  and  the  glory  of  the  terrestrial  another  ;" 
and  that  even  the  glory  of  the  celestial  bodies  is  not  alike :  for 
"  one  is  the  glory  of  the  sun,  and  another  the  glory  of  the 
stars ;"  and  among  the  stars  themselves,  "one  star  differeth  from 
another  star  in  glory."  ^  And  therefore,  as  those  who  expect 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  we  assert  that  the  qualities  which 
are  in  bodies  undergo  change  :  since  some  bodies,  which  are  sown 
in  corruption,  are  raised  in  incorruption ;  and  others,  sown  in  dis- 
honour, are  raised  in  glory ;  and  others,  again,  sown  in  weakness, 
are  raised  in  power  ;  and  those  which  are  sown  natural  bodies, 
are  raised  as  spiritual.^  That  the  matter  which  underlies  bodies 
is  capable  of  receiving  those  qualities  which  the  Creator  pleases 
to  bestow,  is  a  point  which  all  of  us  who  accept  the  doctrine  of 
providence  firmly  hold;  so  that,  if  God  so  willed,  one  quality 
is  at  the  present  time  implanted  in  this  portion  of  matter,  and 
afterwards  another  of  a  different  and  better  kind.  But  since 
there  are,  from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  laws^  established 
for  the  purpose  of  regulating  the  changes  of  bodies,  and  which 
will  continue  while  the  world  lasts,  I  do  not  know  whether, 
'when  a  new  and  different  order  of  things  has  succeeded*  after 
ithe  destruction  of  the  world,  and  what  our  Scriptures  call  the 
end^  [of  the  ages],  it  is  not  wonderful  that  at  the  present  time 
a  snake  should  be  formed  out  of  a  dead  man,  growing,  as  the 
multitude  affirm,  out  of  the  marrow  of  the  back,^  and  that  a 
bee  should  spring  from  an  ox,  and  a  wasp  from  a  horse,  and  a 
beetle  from  an  ass,  and,  generally,  worms  from  the  most  of 
bodies.  Celsus,  indeed,  thinks  that  this  can  be  shown  to  be 
the  consequence  of  none  of  these  bodies  being  the  work  of  God, 

1  Cf.  1  Cor.  XV.  41,  etc.  -  Cf.  1  Cor.  xv.  44.  ^  ^-^^^^ 

*  y.a.ty7i;  oidOi^xf^iv/):  o'fltii'  Keel  cl'A'hotci;,  etc.  For  ^iccoi^x,uivYi;,  Bohcrellus 
would  read  oiuhi^oi^ivn;-     Cf.  Origen,  de  Princlp.  iii.  c.  v. 

^  avvTiy\£ix. 

«  Cf.  Pliny,  X.  c.  66  :  "  Anguem  ex  medulla  liominis  spinse  gigni  accepi- 
mua  a  multis."     Cf.  also  Ovid,  MelamorpJios.  xv.  fab.  iv. 


Book  IV.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  225 

and  that  qualities  (I  know  not  wlience  it  was  so  arranged  that 
one  should  spring  out  of  another)  are  not  the  work  of  a  divine 
intelligence,  producing  the  changes  which  occur  in  the  qualities 
of  matter. 

Chaptek  lviii. 

But  we  have  something  more  to  say  to  Celsus,  when  he 
declares  that  "  the  soul  is  the  work  of  God,  and  that  the  nature 
of  body  is  different,"  and  puts  forward  such  an  opinion  not 
only  without  proof,  but  even  without  clearly  defining  his  mean- 
ino- ;  for  he  did  not  make  it  evident  whether  he  meant  that 
every  soul  is  the  work  of  God,  or  only  the  rational  soul.  This, 
then,  is  what  we  have  to  say  :  If  every  soul  is  the  work  of  God, 
it  is  manifest  that  those  of  the  meanest  irrational  animals  are 
God's  work,  so  that  the  nature  of  all  bodies  is  different  from 
that  of  the  soul.  He  appears,  however,  in  what  follows,  where 
he  says  that  "irrational  animals  are  more  beloved  by  God  than 
we,  and  have  a  purer  knowledge  of  divinity,"  to  maintain  that 
not  only  is  the  soul  of  man,  but  in  a  much  greater  degree 
that  of  irrational  animals,  the  work  of  God  ;  for  this  follows 
from  their  being  said  to  be  more  beloved  by  God  than  we. 
Now  if  the  rational  soul  alone  be  the  work  of  God,  then,  in  the 
first  place,  he  did  not  clearly  indicate  that  such  was  his  opinion  ; 
and  in  the  second  place,  this  deduction  follows  from  his  indefi- 
nite language  regarding  the  soul — viz.  whether  not  every  one, 
but  only  the  rational,  is  the  work  of  God — that  neither  is  the 
nature  of  all  bodies  different  [from  the  soul].  But  if  the  nature 
of  all  bodies  be  not  different,  although  the  body  of  each  animal 
correspond  to  its  soul,  it  is  evident  that  the  body  of  that  animal 
whose  soul  was  the  work  of  God,  would  differ  from  the  body  of 
that  animal  in  which  dwells  a  soul  which  was  not  the  work  of 
God.  And  so  the  assertion  will  be  false,  that  there  is  no  differ- 
ence between  the  body  of  a  bat,  or  of  a  worm,  oi^  of  a  frog, 
and  that  of  a  man. 

Chapter  lix. 

For  it  would,  indeed,  be  absurd  that  certain  stones  and 
buildings  should  be  regarded  as  more  sacred  or  more  profane 
than  others,  according  as  they  were  constructed  for  the  honour 

ORIG. VOL.  II.  P 


226  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  i v. 

of  God,  or  for  the  reception  of  dishonourable   and  accursed 
persons;^  -svhile  bodies  should  not  differ  from  bodies,  according 
as  they  are   inhabited   by  rational  or  irrational   beings,  and 
according  as  these  rational  beings  are  the  most  virtuous  or 
most  worthless  of  mankind.      Such  a  principle  of  distinction, 
indeed,  has  led  some  to  deify  the  bodies  of  distinguished  men,^ 
as  having  received  a  virtuous  soul,  and  to  reject  and  treat  with 
dishonour  those  of  very  wicked  individuals.     I  do  not  maintain 
that  such  a  principle  has  been  always  soundly  exercised,  but 
that  it  had  its  orimn  in  a  correct  idea.     Would  a  wise  man, 
indeed,  after  the  death  of  Anytus  and  Socrates,  think  of  bury- 
ing the  bodies  of  both  with  like  honours  ?      And  would  he 
raise  the  same  mound  or  tomb  to  the  memory  of  both  ?     These 
instances  we  have  adduced  because  of  the  language  of  Celsus, 
that  "none  of  these  is  the  work  of  God"  (where  the  words 
"  of  these"  refer  to  the  body  of  a  man,  or  to  the  snakes  wdiich 
come  out  of   the  body ;  and  to  that  of  an  ox,  or  of  the  bees 
which  come  from  the  body  of  an  ox ;  and  to  that  of  a  horse, 
or  of  an  ass,  and  to  the  wasps  which  come  from  a  horse,  and 
the  beetles  which  proceed  from  an  ass) ;  for  which  reason  we 
have  been  obliged  to  return  to  the  consideration  of  his  state- 
ment,  that  ''the  soul  is  the  work  of  God,  but  that  the  nature 
of  body  is  different." 

Chapter  lx. 

He  next  proceeds  to  say,  that  ''  a  common  nature  pervades 
all  the  previously  mentioned  bodies,  and  one  which  goes  and 
returns  the  same  amid  recurring  changes."  ^  In  answer  to  this, 
it  is  evident  from  what  has  been  already  said,  that  not  only 
does  a  common  nature  pervade  those  bodies  which  have  been 
previously  enumerated,  but  the  heavenly  bodies  as  well.  And 
if  this  is  the  case,  it  is  clear  also  that,  according  to  Celsus 
(although  rdo  not  know  whether  it  is  according  to  truth),  it  is 
one  nature  which  goes  and  returns  the  same  through  all  bodies 
amid  recurring  changes.  It  is  evident  also  that  this  is  the  case 
in  the  opinion  of  those  who  hold  that  the  world  is  to  perish  ; 
while  those  also  who  hold  the  opposite  view  will  endeavour  to 

^  au/nu.7a)v.  ^  TO)]/  otoci^ipovray. 

'^  Kcil  f<.ici  its  d^Oi^'Av  7i-«a/j/t/50^oj'  hvaet  kkI  tTruvtovaoi. 


i 


Book  IV.]  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  227 

show,  without  the  assumption  of  a  fifth  substance,^  that  in  their 
judgment  too  it  is  one  nature  "  which  goes  and  returns  the 
same  tlirough  all  bodies  amid  recurring  changes."  And  thus, 
even  that  which  is  perishable  remains  in  order  to  undergo  a 
change  ;  ^  for  the  matter  which  underlies  [all  things],  while  its 
properties  perish,  still  abides,  according  to  the  opinion  of  those 
who  hold  it  to  be  uncreated.  If,  however,  it  can  be  shown  by 
any  arguments  not  to  be  uncreated,  but  to  have  been  created 
for  certain  purposes,  it  is  clear  that  it  will  not  have  the  same 
nature  of  permanency  which  it  would  possess  on  the  hypothesis 
of  being  uncreated.  But  it  is  not  our  object  at  present,  in 
answering  the  charges  of  Celsus,  to  discuss  these  questions  of 
natural  philosophy. 

Chapter  lxi. 

He    maintains,  moreover,  that  "no   product  of   matter   is 
immortal."     Now,  in  answer  to  this  it  may  be  said,  that  if  no 
product  of  matter  is  immortal,  then  either  the  whole  world  is 
immortal,  and  thus  not  a  product  of  matter,  or  it  is  not  im- 
mortal.    If,  accordingly,  the  world  is  immortal  (which  is  agree- 
able to  the  view  of  those  who  say  that  the  soul  alone  is  the 
j  work  of  God,  and  was  produced  from  a  certain  bowl),   let 
!  Celsus  show  that  the  world  was  not  produced  from  a  matter 
devoid  of  qualities,  remembering  liis  own  assertion  that  "no 
product  of  matter  is  immortal."     If,  however,  the  world  is  not 
immortal  (seeing  it  is  a  product  of  matter),  but  mortal,  does  it 
also  perish,  or  does  it  not  ?     For  if  it  perish,  it  will  perish  as 
being  a  work  of  God;  and  then,  in  the  event  of  the  loorlcl 
perishing,  what  will  become  of  the  soul,  which  is  also  a  work 
I  of  God?     Let  Celsus   answer  this!      But  if,  perverting  the 
\  notion  of  immortality,  he  will  assert  tliat,  although  perishable, 
\it  is  immortal,  because  it  does  not  realli/   perish;  that  it  is 
•capable  of  dying,  but  does  not  actually  die, — it  is  evident  that, 
according  to  him,  there  will  exist  something  which  is  at  the 
same  time  mortal  and  immortal,  by  being  capable  of  both  con- 
ditions ;  and  that  which  does  not  die  will  be  mortal,  and  that 
which  is  not  immortal  by  nature  will  be  termed  in  a  peculiar 
sense  immortal,  because  it  does  not  die !     According  to  what 


•228  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

clistinctlon,  then,  in  the  meaning  of  words,  Avill  he  maintain 
that  no  product  of  matter  is  immortal?  And  thus  you  see 
that  the  ideas  contained  in  his  writings,  -when  closely  examined 
and  tested,  are  proved  not  to  be  sound  and  incontrovertible.^ 
And  after  making  these  assertions  he  adds :  "  On  this  point 
these  remarks  are  sufficient  ;  and  if  any  one  is  capable  of 
hearing  and  examining  further,  he  will  come  to  know  [the 
truth]."  Let  us,  then,  who  in  his  opinion  are  unintelligent 
individuals,  see  what  will  result  from  our  being  able  to  listen  to 
him  for  a  little,  and  so  continue  our  investigation. 

Chapter  lxii. 

After  these  matters,  then,  he  thinks  that  he  can  make  us 
acquainted  in  a  few  words  with  the  questions  regarding  the 
nature  of  evil,  which  have  been  variously  discussed  in  many 
important  treatises,  and  which   have    received   very  opposite 
explanations.     His  words  are  :  "  There  neither  were  formerly, 
nor  are  there  now,  nor  will  there  be  again,  more  or  fewer  evils 
in  the  world  [than  have  always  been].     For  the  nature  of  all 
■  things   is  one   and  the  same,   and  the  generation   of  evils  is 
always  the  same."     He  seems  to  have  paraphrased  these  words 
from   the   discussions  in  the   Thecetetus,  where   Plato    makes 
Socrates  say  :  "  It  is  neither  possible  for  evils  to  disappear  from 
among  men,  nor  for  them  to  become  established  among  the 
gods,"  and  so  on.     But  he  appears  to  me  not  to  have  under- 
stood Plato  correctly,  although  professing  to  include  all  truth" 
in  this  one  treatise,  and  giving  to  his  own  book  against  us  the 
title  of  A   True  Discourse.     For  the  language  in  the  TimceuSj 
where  it  is  said,  "  When  the  gods  purify  the  earth  with  water," 
shows  that  the  earth,  when  purified  with  water,  contains  less 
evil  than  it  did  before  its  purification.     And  this  assertion,  that 
there  at  one  time  were  fewer  evils  in  the  Avorld,  is  one  which 
we  make,  in  harmony  with  the  opinion  of  Plato,  because  of  the 
language  in  the  TIiea>tetus,  where  he  says  that  "  evils  cannot 
disappear  from  among  men.'" 

*  0  T'/jy  u7^'/i6itxv  ix.Vipt'koi.i^liccuuv. 


Book  iv.]  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  225 

Chapter  lxttt. 

I  do  not  understand  how  Celsus,  while  admitting  the  existence 
of  Providence,  at  least  so  far  as  appears  from  the  language  of  tliis 
book,  can  say  that  there  never  existed  [at  any  time]  either  more 
or  fewer  evils,  but,  as  it  were,  a  fixed  number ;  thus  anniliilat- 
ino-  the  beautiful  doctrine  reiiardino;  the  indefinite  ^  nature  of 
evil,  and  asserting  that  evil,  even  in  its  own  nature,^  is  infinite. 
Now  it  appears  to  follow  from  the  position,  that  there  never 
have  been,  nor  are  now,  nor  ever  will  be,  more  or  fewer  evils 
i»  the  world ;  that  as,  according  to  the  view  of  those  who  hold 
the  indestructibility  of  the  world,  the  equipoise  of  the  elements 
is  maintained  by  a  Providence  (which  does  not  pei'mit  one  to 
gain  the  preponderance  over  the  others,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
destruction  of  the  world),  so  a  kind  of  Providence  presides,  as 
it  were,  over  evils  (the  number  of  which  is  fixed),^  to  prevent 
their  being  either  increased  or  diminished !  In  other  ways, 
too,  are  the  arguments  of  Celsus  concerning  evil  confuted,  by 
those  philosophers  who  have  investigated  the  subjects  of  good 
and  evil,  and  who  have  proved  also  from  history  that  in  former 
times  it  was  without  the  city,  and  with  tlieir  faces  concealed  by 
masks,  that  loose  women  hired  themselves  to  those  who  wanted 
them  ;  that  subsequently,  becoming  more  impudent,  they  laid 
aside  their  masks,  though  not  being  permitted  by  the  laws  to 
enter  the  cities,  they  [still]  remained  without  them,  until,  as 
the  dissoluteness  of  manners  daily  increased,  they  dared  [finally] 
even  to  enter  the  cities.  Such  accounts  are  given  b}-  Chrysippus 
in  the  introduction  to  his  work  on  Good  and  Evil.  From  this 
also  it  may  be  seen  that  evils  both  increase  and  decrease,  viz, 
til  at  those  individuals  who  were  called  "Ambiguous'"*  used 
formerly  to  present  themselves  openly  to  view,  suffering  and 
committing  all  shameful  things,  while  subserving  the  passions 
of  those  who  frequented  their  society;  but  recently  they  have 
been  expelled  [from  the  city]  by  the  authorities.^  And  of 
countless  evils  which,  owing  to  the  spread  of  wickedness,  have 
made  their  appearance  in  human  life,  we  may  say  that  formerly 
they  did  not  exist.     For  the  most  ancient  histories,  which  bring 


230  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

innumerable  otlier  accusations  against  sinful  men,  know  nothing 
of  the  perpetrators  of  abominable  ^  crimes. 

Chapter  lxiv. 

And  now,  after  these  arguments,  and  others  of  a  similar  kind, 
how  can  Celsus  escape  appearing  in  a  ridiculous  light,  when  he 
imagines  that  there  never  has  been  in  the  past,  nor  will  be  in 
the  future,  a  greater  or  less  number  of  evils  ?  For  although 
the  nature  of  all  things  is  one  and  the  same,  it  does  not  at  all 
follow  that  the  production  of  evils  is  a  constant  quantity.^ 
For  although  the  nature  of  a  certain  individual  is  one  and  the 
same,  yet  his  mind,  and  his  reason,  and  his  actions,  are  not 
always  alike  :^  there  being  a  time  when  he  had  not  yet  attained 
to  reason  ;  and  another,  when,  with  the  possession  of  reason,  he 
had  become  stained  with  'svickedness,  and  when  this  increased 
to  a  greater  or  less  degree ;  and  again,  a  time  when  he  devoted 
himself  to  virtue,  and  made  greater  or  less  progress  therein, 
attaining  sometimes  the  very  summit  of  perfection,  through 
longer  or  shorter  periods  of  contemplation.*  In  like  manner,  we 
may  make  the  same  assertion  in  a  higher  degree  of  the  nature 
of  the  universe,^  that  although  it  is  one  and  the  same  in  kind, 
yet  neither  do  exactly  the  same  things,  nor  yet  things  that  are 
similar,  occur  in  it ;  for  we  neither  have  invariably  productive 
nor  unproductive  seasons,  nor  yet  periods  of  continuous  rain  or 
of  drought.  And  so  in  the  same  way,  with  regard  to  virtuous 
souls,  there  are  neither  appointed  periods  of  fertility  nor  of 
barrenness ;  and  the  same  is  the  case  with  the  greater  or  less 
spread  of  evil.  And  those  who  desire  to  investigate  all  things 
to  the  best  of  their  ability,  must  keep  in  view  this  estimate  of 
evils,  that  their  amount  is  not  always  the  same,  owing  to  the 
working  of  a  Providence  which  either  preserves  earthly  things, 
or  purges  them  by  means  of  floods  and  conflagrations ;  and 
effects  this,  perhaps,  not  merely  with  reference  to  things  on 
earth,  but  also  to  the  whole  universe  of  things  ®  which  stands  in 


uppyiTOTTOiov;  ova  taciat. 


2   r,!,   rr 


ccvrug  x,xi  ij  ruu  notKuv  yeviai;  uii  7}  avrvj. 


'  oiix,  di\  Ttx,  uvToi  ioTi  'PTspl  TO  '/lysy^oviKov  uvTCiv,  Kcci  7oy  "hlyoj  aiiTCu,  Kcil 

roc;  Trpcc^iig. 


Book  iv.]  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  231 

need  of  purification,  wlien  the  wickedness  that  is  in  it  has 
become  great. 

Chapter  lxv. 

After  tills  Celsus  continues :  "  It  is  not  easy,  indeed,  for  one 
who  is  not  a  philosopher  to  ascertain  the  origin  of  evils,  though 
it  is  sufficient  for  the  multitude  to  say  that  they  do  not  proceed 
from  God,  but  cleave  to  matter,  and  liave  their  abode  amono- 
mortal  things ;  while  the  course  of  mortal  things  being  the 
same  from  beginning  to  end,  the  same  things  must  always, 
agreeably  to  the  appointed  cycles,^  recur  in  the  past,  present, 
and  future."  Celsus  here  observes  that  it  is  not  easy  for  one 
who  is  not  a  philosopher  to  ascertain  the  origin  of  evils,  as  if 
J  it  were  an  easy  matter  for  a  philosopher  to  gain  this  knowledge, 
I  while  for  one  who  is  not  a  philosopher  it  was  difficult,  though  still 
possible,  for  such  an  one,  although  with  great  labour,  to  attain 
it.  Now,  to  this  we  say,  that  the  origin  of  evils  is  a  subject 
which  is  not  easy  even  for  a  philosopher  to  master,  and  that 
perhaps  it  is  impossible  even  for  such  to  attain  a  clear  under- 
standing of  it,  unless  it  be  revealed  to  them  by  divine  inspira- 
tion, both  what  evils  are,  and  how  they  originated,  and  how 
they  shall  be  made  to  disappear.  But  although  ignorance  of 
God  is  an  evil,  and  one  of  ihe  greatest  of  these  is  not  to  know 
how  God  is  to  be  served  and  worshipped,  yet,  as  even  Celsus 
would  admit,  there  are  undoubtedly  some  philosoj)hers  who 
have  been  ignorant  of  this,  as  is  evident  from  the  views  of  the 
different  philosophical  sects ;  whereas,  according  to  our  judo-- 
ment,  no  one  is  capable  of  ascertaining  the  origin  of  evils  who 
does  not  know^  that  it  is  wicked  to  suppose  that  piety  is  preserved 
uninjured  amid  the  laws  that  are  established  in  different  states, 
in  conformity  with  the  generally  prevailing  ideas  of  government.^ 
I  No  one,  moreover,  wha  has  not  heard  what  is  related  of  him 
■who  is  called  "devil,"  and  of  his  "angels,"  and  what  he  was 
.before  he  became  a  devil,  and  lioio  he  became  such,  and  what 
^as  the  cause  of  the  simultaneous  apostasy  of  those  who  are 
'termed  his  angels,  will  be  able  to  ascertain  the  origin  of  evils. 

•Trsptooog.  ~  y.urcc  rec;  Tiruyf^ina;  ix.'jux,vk'Kv,(7si;. 

^  ,UY}  ly<ju-/.u;  K»yJ'j  shxi  to  vot/J^nv  svji/iitxu  uu^iaBxi  iv  tci;  KxhaT'/iKout 
xuTcc  r»;  xoivoTipov  voovfiiveis  TroT^tru'et;  vcfiOig- 


232  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

But  he  ^vho  would  attain  to  this  knowledge  must  learn  more 
accurately  the  nature  of  demons,  and  know  that  they  are  not 
the  work  of  God  so  far  as  respects  their  demoniacal  nature,  but 
only  in  so  far  as  they  are  possessed  of  reason  ;  and  also  what 
their  origin  was,  so  that  they  became  beings  of  such  a  nature, 
that  while  converted  into  demons,  the  powers  of  their  mind^ 

I  remain.     And   if  there  be  any  topic  of  human  investigation 
which  is  difficult  for  our  nature  to  grasp,  certainly  the  origin  of^ 
evils  may  be  considered  to  be  such. 

Chapter  lxvi. 

Celsus  in  the  next  place,  as  if  he  were  able  to  tell  certain 
secrets  regarding  the  origin  of  evils,  but  chose  rather  to  keep 
silence,  and  say  only  what  was  suitable  to  the  multitude,  con- 
tinues as  follows  :  "  It  is  sufficient  to  say  to  the  multitude 
regarding  the  origin  of  evils,  that  they  do  not  proceed  from 
God,  but  cleave  to  matter,  and  dwell  among  mortal  things." 
It  is  true,  certainly,  that  evils  do  not  proceed  from  God ;  for 
according  to  Jeremiah,  one  of  our  prophets,  it  is  certain  that 
"  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Most  High  proceedeth  not  evil 
and  good."  ^  But  to  maintain  that  matter,  dwelling  among 
mortal  things,  is  the  cause  of  evils,  is  in  our  opinion  not  true. 
^  For  it  is  the  mind  of  each  individual  which  is  the  cause  of  the 

■  evil  which  arises  in  him,  and  this  is  evil  in  the  abstract;^  while 
the  actions  which  proceed  from  it  are  wicked,  and  there  is,  to 
speak  with  accuracy,  nothing  else  in  our  view  that  is  evil.     I 

1  am  aware,  however,  that  this  topic  requires  very  elaborate  treat- 

,  ment,  which  (by  the  grace  of  God  enlightening  the  mind) 
may  be  successfully  attempted  by  him  who  is  deemed  by  God 

\  worthy  to  attain  the  necessary  knowledge  on  this  subject. 

Chapter  lxvii. 

I  do  not  understand  how  Celsus  should  deem  it  of  advantage, 
in  writing  a  treatise  against  us,  to  adopt  an  opinion  which 
requires  at  least  much  plausible  reasoning  to  make  it  appear, 
as  far  as  he  can  do  so,  that  "  the  course  of  mortal  things  is  the 
same  from  beginning  to  end,  and  that  the  same  things  must 
always,  according  to  the  appointed  cycles,  recur  in  the  past, 

^  TO  '^yif^ovix-iv.  ^  Cf.  Lam.  iii.  38.  ^  ^t/j  sari  to  kxkciu. 


Book  iv.l  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  233 

present,  and  future.''  Now,  if  this  be  true,  our  free-wili  is 
annihilated.^  For  if,  in  the  revolution  of  mortal  things,  the 
same  events  must  perpetually  occur  in  the  past,  present,  and 
future,  according  to  the  appointed  cycles,  it  is  clear  that,  of 
necessity,  Socrates  will  always  be  a  philosopher,  and  be  con- 
demned for  introducing  strange  gods  and  for  corrupting  the 
youth.  And  Anytus  and  Melitus  must  always  be  his  accusers, 
and  the  council  of  the  Areopagus  must  ever  condemn  him  to 
death  by  hemlock.  And  in  the  same  "way,  according  to  the 
appointed  cycles,  Phalaris  must  always  play  the  tyrant,  and 
Alexander  of  Pheras  commit  the  same  acts  of  cruelty,  and 
those  condemned  to  the  [torture  of  the  brazen]  bull  of  Phalaris 
continually  pour  forth  their  wailings  from  it.  But  if  these 
things  be  granted,  I  do  not  see  how  our  free-will  can  be  pre- 
served, or  how  praise  or  blame  can  be  administered  with  pro- 
priety. We  may  say  further  to  Celsus,  in  answer  to  such  a 
view,  that  "  if  the  course  of  mortal  things  be  always  the  same 
from  beginning  to  end,  and  if,  according  to  the  appointed 
cycles,  the  same  events  must  always  occur  in  the  past,  present, 
and  future,"  then,  according  to  the  appointed  cycles,  Moses 
must  again  come  forth  from  Egypt  with  the  Jewish  people, 
and  Jesus  again  come  to  dwell  in  human  life,  and  perform  the 
same  actions  which,  [according  to  this  view],  he  has  done  not 
once,  but  countless  times,  as  the  periods  have  revolved.  Nay, 
Christians  too  will  be  the  same  in  the  appointed  cycles  ;  and 
Celsus  will  again  write  this  treatise  of  his,  which  he  has  done 
innumerable  times  before ! 

Chapter  lxviii. 

Celsus,  however,  says  that  it  is  only  "  the  course  of  mortal 
things  which,  according  to  the  appointed  cycles,  must  always 
be  the  same  in  the  past,  present,  and  future;"  whereas  the 
majority  of  the  Stoics  maintain  that  this  is  the  case  not  only 
with  the  course  of  mortal,  but  also  with  that  of  immortal  things, 
and  of  those  whom  they  regard  as  gods.  For  after  the  con- 
flagration of  the  world,^  which  has  taken  place  countless  times 
in  the  past,  and  will  happen  countless  times  in  the  future,  there 
has  been,  and  will  be,  the  same  arrangement  of  all  things  from 

^  TO  iXi   'ft,ur.v  ci.!/y.pr,zoi.t.  ^  rov  'ttciuto;. 


234  OrdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

the  beginning  to  the  end.  The  Stoics,  indeed,  in  endeavouring 
to  parry,  I  don't  know  how,  the  objections  raised  to  their  views, 
allege  that  as  cycle  after  cycle  returns,  all  men  will  be  alto- 
gether unchanged^  from  those  who  lived  in  former  cycles;  so  that 
1  Socrates  will  not  live  again,  but  one  altogether  like  to  Socrates, 
who  will  marry  a  wife  exactly  like  Xanthippe,  and  will  be  ac- 
cused by  men  exactly  like  Anytus  and  ISIelitus.  I  do  not  under- 
stand, however,  how  the  world  is  to  be  always  the  same,  and  one 
individual  not  different  from  another,  and  yet  the  things  in  it 
not  the  same,  though  exactly  alike.  But  the  main  argument  in 
answer  to  the  statements  of  Celsus  and  of  the  Stoics  will  be 
more  appropriately  investigated  elsewhere,  since  on  the  present 
occasion  it  is  not  consistent  with  the  purpose  we  have  in  view 
to  expatiate  on  these  points. 

Chapter  lxix. 

He  continues  to  say,  that  "  neither  have  visible  things  ^  been 
given  to  man  [by  God],  but  each  individual  thing  comes  into 
existence  and  perishes  for  the  sake  of  the  safety  of  the  whole, 
passing  agreeably  to  the  change,  which  I  have  already  men- 
tioned, from  one  thing  to  another."  It  is  unnecessary,  however, 
to  linger  over  the  refutation  of  these  statements,  which  have 
been  already  refuted  to  the  best  of  my  ability.  And  the  fol- 
lowing, too,  has  been  answered,  viz.  that  "  there  will  neither  be 
more  nor  less  good  and  evil  among  mortals."  This  point  also 
has  been  referred  to,  viz.  that  "  God  does  not  need  to  amend 
His  work  afresh."  ^  But  it  is  not  as  a  man  who  has  imperfectly 
designed  some  piece  of  workmanship,  and  executed  it  unskil- 
fully, that  God  administers  correction  to  the  world,  in  purifying 
it  by  a  flood  or  by  a  conflagration,  but  in  order  to  prevent  the 
tide  of  evil  from  rising  to  a  greater  height ;  and,  moreover,  I  am 
of  opinion  that  it  is  at  periods  which  are  precisely  determined 
beforehand  that  He  sweeps  wickedness  away,  so  as  to  contribute 
to  the  good  of  the  whole  world.'*  If,  however,  he  should  assert 
that,  after  the  disappearance  of  evil,  it  again  comes  into  exist- 
ence, such  questions  will  have  to  be  examined  in  a  special 
treatise.    It  is,  then,  always  in  order  to  repair  what  has  become 


Book  iv.]  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  235 

faulty  ^  that  God  desires  to  amend  His  work  afresli.  For 
althouf^li,  in  tlie  creation  of  the  world,  all  things  had  been 
arranc^ed  by  Him  in  the  most  beautiful  and  stable  manner,  He 
nevertheless  needed  to  exercise  some  healing  power  upon  those 
who  were  labouring  under  the  disease  of  wickedness,  and  upon 
a  whole  world,  which  was  polluted  as  it  were  thereby.  But 
nothino"  has  been  neglected  by  God,  or  will  be  neglected  by 
Him;  for  He  does  at  each  particular  juncture  what  it  becomes 
Him  to  do  in  a  perverted  and  changed  world.  And  as  a  hus- 
bandman performs  different  acts  of  husbandry  upon  the  soil 
and  its  productions,  according  to  the  varying  seasons  of  the 
year,  so  God  administers  entire  ages  of  time,  as  if  they  were, 
so  to  speak,  so  many  individual  years,  performing  during  each 
one  of  them  what  is  requisite  with  a  reasonable  regard  to  the 
care  of  the  world;  and  this,  as  it  is  truly  understood  by  God 
alone,  so  also  is  it  accomplished  by  Him. 

Chapter  lxx. 

Celsus  has  made  a  statement  regarding  evils  of  the  following 

nature,  viz.,  that  "  although  a  thing  may  seem  to  you  to  be  evil, 

it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  it  is  so ;  for  you  do  not  know  what 

is  of  advantage  to  yourself,  or  to  another,  or  to  the  whole  world." 

/  Now  this  assertion  is  made  with  a  certain  degree  of  caution ; " 

I  and  it  hints  that  the  nature  of  evil  is  not  wholly  wicked,  because 

i  that  which  may  be  considered  so  in  individual  cases,  may  con- 

•   tain  something  which  is  of  advantage  to  the  whole  community. 

However,  lest  any  one  should  mistake  my  words,  and  find  a 

pretence  of  wrongdoing,  as  if  his  wickedness  were  profitable  to 

the  world,  or  at  least  might  be  so,  we  have  to  say,  that  although 

God,  who  preserves  the  free-will  of  each  individual,  may  make 

use  of  the  evil  of  the  wicked  for  the  administration  of  the 

world,  so  disposing  them  as  to  conduce  to  the  benefit  of  the 

whole ;  yet,  notwithstanding,  such  an  individual  is  deserving  of 

censure,  and  as  such  has  been  appointed  for  a  use,  which  is  a 

subject  of  loathing  to  each  separate  individual,  although  of 

advantage  to  the  whole  community.^    It  is  as  if  one  were  to  say 

^  TBC  a^»}ifiaTX  duuT^etfilixi/si'j.  "  e^si  rl  si/'KuiSsi. 

(AOU  "hi  TU  TTCCVTl, 


23 6  ORIGEN  A  GA  INST  CELS US.  [Book  i v. 

that  in  the  case  of  a  city,  a  man  who  had  committed  certain 
crimes,  and  on  account  of  these  had  been  condemned  to  serve  in 
public  works  that  were  useful  to  the  community,  did  something 
that  was  of  advantage  to  the  entire  city,  while  he  himself  was 
engaged  in  an  abominable  task,^  in  wdiich  no  one  possessed  of 
moderate  understanding  would  wish  to  be  en£i;ao;ed.  Paul  also, 
the  apostle  of  Jesus,  teaches  us  that  even  tiie  very  wicked  will 
contribute  to  the  good  of  the  whole,  while  in  themselves  they 
will  be  amongst  the  vile,  but  that  the  most  virtuous  men,  too,  will 
be  of  the  greatest  advantage  to  the  world,  and  will  therefore  on 
that  account  occupy  the  noblest  position.  His  words  are  :  "  But 
in  a  great  house  there  are  not  only  vessels  of  gold  and  silver, 
but  also  of  wood  and  of  earth ;  and  some  to  honour,  and  some 
to  dishonour.  If  a  man  therefore  purge  himself,  he  shall  be  a 
vessel  unto  honour,  sanctified  and  meet  for  the  Master's  use,  pre- 
pared unto  every  good  work."  ^  These  remarks  I  have  thought  it 
necessary  to  make  in  reply  to  the  assertion,  that  "  although  a 
thing  may  seem  to  you  to  be  evil,  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that 
it  is  so,  for  you  do  not  know  what  is  of  advantage  either  to 
yourself  or  to  another,"  in  order  that  no  one  may  take  occasion 
from  what  has  been  said  on  the  subject  to  commit  sin,  on  the 
pretext  that  he  will  thus  be  useful  to  the  world. 

Chapter  lxxi. 

But  as,  in  what  follows,  Celsus,  not  understanding  that  the 
language  of  Scripture  regarding  God  is  adapted  to  an  anthro- 
popathic  point  of  view,  ridicules  those  passages  which  speak  of 
words  of  anger  addressed  to  the  ungodly,  and  of  threatenings 
directed  against  sinners,  we  have  to  say  that,  as  we  ourselves, 
when  talking  with  very  young  children,  do  not  aim  at  exerting 
our  own  power  of  eloquence,^  but,  adapting  ourselves  to  the 
weakness  of  our  charge,  both  say  and  do  those  things  which 
may  appear  to  us  useful  for  the  correction  and  improvement 
of  the  children  as  children,  so  the  word  of  God  appears  to  have 
dealt  with  the  history,  making  the  capacity  of  the  hearers,  and 
the  benefit  which  they  were  to  receive,  the  standard  of  the 
appropriateness  of  its  announcements  [regarding  Him].     And, 

^  £v  ccTTiVKruio)  "TTpxyficiri.  -  Cf.  1  Tim.  ii.  20,  21. 

*  Oil  TOt/   iXVTUV  iu  TU  'hiyilV  aTOX,Ot^6/Xi6x  OUUOtTClV. 


BooKiv.J  OPdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  237 

generally,  Nvith  regard  to  sncli  a  style  of  speaking  about  God, 
\\'c  find  in  the  book  of  Deuteronomy  the  following:  "The 
Lord  thy  God  bare  with  your  manners,  as  a  man  would  bear 
with  the  manners  of  his  son."  ^  It  is,  as  it  were,  assuming  the 
manners  of  a  man  in  order  to  secure  the  advantage  of  men  that 
the  Scripture  makes  use  of  such  expressions ;  for  it  would  not 
have  been  suitable  to  the  condition  of  the  multitude,  that  what 
God  had  to  say  to  them  should  be  spoken  by  Him  in  a  manner 
more  befitting  the  majesty  of  His  own  person.  And  yet  he 
who  is  anxious  to  attain  a  true  understanding  of  Holy  Scripture, 
will  discover  the  spiritual  truths  which  are  spoken  by  it  to  those, 
who  are  called  "  spirituaiy  by  comparing  the  meaning  of  what 
is  addressed  to  those  of  weaker  mind  with  what  is  announced 
to  such  as  are  of  acuter  understanding,  both  meanings  being 
frequently  found  in  the  same  passage  by  him  who  is  capable 
of  comprehending  it. 

Chapter  lxxit. 

We  speak,  indeed,  of  the  "  wrath "  of  God.  We  do  not, 
however,  assert  that  it  indicates  any  "  passion "  on  His  part, 
but  that  it  is  something  which  is  assumed  in  order  to  discipline 
by  stern  means  those  sinners  Avho  have  committed  many  and 
grievous  sins.  For  that  which  is  called  God's  "  wrath,"  and 
"  anger,"  is  a  means  of  discipline;  and  that  such  a  view  is  agree- 
able to  Scripture,  is  evident  from  what  is  said  in  the  sixth  Psalm, 
"  O  Lord,  rebuke  me  not  in  Thine  anger,  neither  chasten  me  in 
Thy  hot  displeasure;""  and  also  in  Jeremiah,  "O  Lord,  correct 
me,  but  with  judgment :  not  in  Thine  anger,  lest  Thou  bring 
me  to  nothing."  ^  Any  one,  moreover,  who  reads  in  the  second 
book  of  Kings  of  the  "wrath"  of  God,  inducing  David  to 
number  the  people,  and  finds  from  the  first  book  of  Chronicles 
that  it  was  the  devil  who  sus2;ested  this  measure,  will,  on-  com- 
paring  together  the  two  statements,  easily  see  for  what  purpose 
the  "  wrath  "  is  mentioned,  of  which  "  wrath,"  as  the  Apostle 
Paul  declares,  all  men  are  children :   "  We  were  by  nature 

^  Cf.  Deut.  i.  31.  Orlgen  appears  to  have  read,  not  izpo^op-ziasy,  the  com- 
mon reading  (Heb.  t;b':),  but  irpoTrocpopyioi",  the  reading  of  the  Codex 

T  T 

Alex. 

2  Cf.  Ps.  vi.  1.  3  Cf.  Jer.  x.  24. 


288  OrdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Bock  iv. 

children  of  wrath,  even  as  others."-^  Moreover,  that  "wrath" 
is  no  passion  on  the  part  of  God,  but  that  each  one  brings  it 
upon  himself  by  his  sins,  will  be  clear  from  the  further  state- 
ment of  Paul :  '•'  Or  despisest  thou  the  riches  of  His  goodness, 
and  forbearance,  and  long-suffering,  not  knowing  that  the 
goodness  of  God  leadeth  thee  to  repentance  ?  But  after  thy 
hardness  and  impenitent  heart,  treasurest  up  unto  thyself  wrath 
against  the  day  of  wrath,  and  revelation  of  the  righteous  judg- 
ment of  God."  How,  then,  can  any  one  treasure  up  for  himself 
"  wrath"  against  a  "day  of  wrath,"  if  "  wrath"  be  understood  iu 
the  sense  of  "passion?"  or  how  can  the  "passion  of  wrath"  be 
a  help  to  discipline  ?  Besides,  the  Scripture,  which  tells  us  not 
I  to  be  angry  at  all,  and  which  says  in  the  thirty-seventh  Psalm, 
"Cease  from  anger,  and  forskke  wrath,"'  and  which  commands 
,  us  by  the  mouth  of  Paul  to  "put  off  all  these,  anger,  wrath, 
'i  malice,  blasphemy,  filthy  communication,"  ^  would  not  involve 
i  God  in  the  same  passion  fi'om  which  it  would  have  us  to  be 
■  altogether  free.  It  is  manifest,  further,  that  the  language  used 
regarding  the  wrath  of  God  is  to  be  understood /i^u?'a^u'e^y  from 
what  is  related  of  His  "  sleep,"  from  which,  as  if  awaking  Him, 
the  prophet  says :  "'  Awake,  why  sleepest  Thou,  Lord  ?  "  *  and 
I  again :  "  Then  the  Lord  awaked  as  one  out  of  sleep,  and  like  a 
'  mighty  man  that  shouteth  by  reason  of  wine."  ^  If,  then,  "  sleep" 
must  mean  something  else,  and  not  what  the  first  acceptation  of 
the  word  conveys,  why  should  not  "  wrath  "  also  be  understood 
in  a«similar  way?  The  "  threatenings,"  again,  are  intimations 
of  the  [punishments]  which  are  to  befall  the  wicked :  for  it  is 
as  if  one  were  to  call  the  words  of  a  physician  "  threats," 
when  he  tells  his  patients,  "  I  will  have  to  use  the  knife,  and 
apply  cauteries,  if  you  do  not  obey  my  prescriptions,  and 
regulate  your  diet  and  mode  of  life  in  such  a  way  as  I  direct 
you."  It  is  no  human  passions,  then,  which  we  ascribe  to  God, 
nor  impious  opinions  which  we  entertain  of  Him  ;  nor  do  we 
err  when  we  present  the  various  narratives  concerning  Him, 
drawn  from  the  Scriptures  themselves,  after  careful  comparison 
one  with  another.  For  those  who  are  wise  ambassadors  of  the 
"  word "  have  no  other  object  in  view  than  to  free  as  far  as 

1  Cf.  Eph.  ii.  3.  '  Cf.  Ps.  xxxvii.  8.  -  Cf.  Col.  iii.  8. 

*  Ps.  xUv.  23.  «  Cf.  Ps.  kxviii.  65. 


Book  iv.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  239 

they  can  their  hearers  from  weak  opinions,  and  to  endue  them 
with  intelligence. 

Chapter  lxxiii. 

And  as  a  sequel  to  his  non-understanding  of  the  statements 
regarding  the  "wrath"  of  God,  he  continues:  "Is  it- not 
ridiculous  to  suppose  that,  whereas  a  man,  who  became  angry 
with  the  Jews,  slew  them  all  from  the  youth  upwards,  and 
burned  their  city  (so  powerless  were  they  to  resist  him),  the 
mighty  God,  as  they  say,  being  angry,  and  indignant,  and 
uttering  threats,  should,  [instead  of  punishing  them,]  send  His 
own  Son,  who  endured  the  sufferings  which  He  did?"  If  the 
Jews,  then,  after  the  treatment  which  they  dared  to  inflict  upon 
Jesus,  perished  with  all  their  youth,  and  had  their  city  consumed 
by  fire,  they  suffered  this  punishment  in  consequence  of  no 
other  wrath  than  that  which  they  treasured  up  for  themselves ; 
for  the  judgment  of  God  against  them,  which  was  determined 
by  the  divine  appointment,  is  termed  "wrath"  agreeably  to  a 
traditional  usage  of  the  Hebrews.  And  what  the  Son  of  the 
mighty  God  suffered,  He  suffered  voluntarily  for  the  salvation 
of  men,  as  has  been  stated  to  the  best  of  my  ability  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages.  He  then  continues:  "But  that  I  may  speak 
not  of  the  Jews  alone  (for  that  is  not  my  object),  but  of  the 
whole  of  nature,  as  I  promised,  I  will  bring  out  more  clearly 
what  has  been  already  stated."  Now  what  modest  man,  on 
reading  these  words,  and  knowing  the  weakness  of  hunianity, 
would  not  be  indignant  at  the  offensive  nature  of  the  promise 
to  give  an  account  of  the  "'  whole  of  nature,"  and  at  an  arro- 
gance like  that  which  prompted  him  to  inscribe  upon  his  book 
the  title  which  he  ventured  to  give  it  [of  a  True  Discourse]  I 
But  let  us  see  what  he  has  to  say  regarding  the  "  whole  of 
nature,"  and  what  he  is  to  place  "  in  a  clearer  light." 

Chapter  lxxiv. 

He  next,  in  many  words,  blames  us  for  asserting  that  God 
made  all  things  for  the  sake  of  man.  Because  from  the  history 
of  animals,  and  from  the  sagacity  manifested  by  them,  he  would 
show  that  all  things  came  into  existence  not  more  for  the  sake 
of  man  than  of  the  irrational  animals.     And  here  he  seems  to 


240  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

me  to  speak  in  a  similar  manner  to  those  who,  through  dislike  of 
their  enemies,  accuse  them  of  the  same  things  for  which  their 
own  friends  are  commended.  For  as,  in  the  instance  referred 
to,  hatred  blinds  these  persons  from  seeing  that  they  are  accusing 
their  very  dearest  friends  by  the  means  through  which  they 
think  they  are  slandering  their  enemies ;  so  in  the  same  way, 
Celsus  also,  becoming  confused  in  his  argument,  does  not  see 
that  he  is  bringing  a  charge  against  the  philosophers  of  the 

i  Porch,  who,  not  amiss,  place  man  in  the  foremost  rank,  and 

I  rational  nature  in  general  before  irrational  animals,  and  who 
maintain  that  Providence  created  all  things  mainly  on  account 

1  of  rational  nature.  Rational  beings,  then,  as  being  the  principal 
ones,  occupy  the  place,  as  it  were,  of  children  in  the  womb, 
while  irrational  and  soulless  beings  hold  that  of  the  envelope 
wdiich  is  created  along  with  the  child.^  I  think,  too,  that  as  in 
cities  the  superintendents  of  the  goods  and  market  discharge 
their  duties  for  the  sake  of  no  other  than  hnman  beings,  while 
dogs  and  other  irrational  animals  have  the  benefit  of  the  super- 
abundance ;  so  Providence  provides  in  a  special  manner  for 
rational    creatures ;    while    this    also    follows,    that    irrational 

;  creatures  likewise  enjoy  the  benefit  of  what  is  done  for  the 
sake  of  man.  And  as  he  is  in  error  who  alleges  that  the  super- 
intendents of  the  markets "  make  provision  in  no  greater  degree 
for  men  than  for  dogs,  because  dogs  also  get  their  share  of  the 
goods  ;  so  in  a  far  greater  degree  are  Celsus  and  they  who 
think  with  him  guilty  of  impiety  towards  the  God  who  makes 
provision  for  rational  beings,  in  asserting  that  His  arrangements 
are  made  in  no  greater  degree  for  the  sustenance  of  human 
beings  than  for  that  of  plants,  and  trees,  and  herbs,  and 
thorns. 

Chapter  lxxv. 

For,  in  the  first  place,  he  is  of  opinion  that  ''  thunders,  and 
lightnings,  and  rains  are  not  the  works  of  God," — thus  showing 
more  clearly  at  last  his  Epicurean  leanings  ;  and  in  the  second 
place,   that  "  even  if  one  were  to  grant  that  these  were  the 

■'■  y.cil  'hoynu  f/Ju  i%ii  rcc.'ho'ytx.oe.,  ccTrep  itrri  -Trporr/ovusux,  'ttuiOuv  ytvvuy.iuuv' 
'  oi'/opct,u6y.ot. 


Book  IV.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUE.  241 

works  of  God,  they  are  brought  into  existence  not  more  for 
the  support  of  us  who  are  human  beings,  than  for  that  of 
plants,  and  trees,  and  herbs,  and  thorns," — maintaining,  Hke  a 
true  Epicurean,  that  these  things  are  the  product  of  chance, 
and  not  the  work  of  Providence.  For  if  these  things  are  of 
no  more  use  to  us  than  to  plants,  and  trees,  and  herbs,  and 
thorns,  it  is  evident  either  that  they  do  not  proceed  from  Provi- 
dence at  all,  or  from  a  providence  which  does  not  provide  for  us 
in  a  greater  degree  than  for  trees,  and  herbs,  and  thorns.  Now, 
either  of  these  suppositions  is  impious  in  itself,  and  it  would  be 
foolish  to  refute  such  statements  by  answering  any  one  who 
brought  against  us  the  charge  of  impiety  ;  for  it  is  manifest  to 
every  one,  from  what  has  been  said,  who  is  the  person  guilty  of 
impiety.  In  the  next  place,  he  adds :  "  Although  you  may  say 
that  these  things,  viz.  plants,  and  trees,  and  herbs,  and  thorns, 
grow  for  the  use  of  men,  why  will  you  maintain  that  they  grow 
for  the  use  of  men  rather  than  for  that  of  the  most  savage  of 
irrational  animals?"  Let  Celsus  then  say  distinctly  that  the 
great  diversity  among  the  products  of  the  earth  is  not  the  work 
of  Providence,  but  that  a  certain  fortuitous  concurrence  of 
atoms ^  gave  birth  to  qualities  so  diverse,  and  that  it  was  owing 
to  chance  that  so  many  kinds  of  plants,  and  trees,  and  herbs  re- 
semble one  another,  and  that  no  disposing  reason  gave  existence 
to  them,"  and  that  they  do  not  derive  their  origin  from  an  under- 
standing that  is  beyond  all  admiration.  We  Christians,  however, 
who  are  devoted  to  the  worship  of  the  only  God,  who  created 
these  things,  feel  grateful  for  them  to  Him  who  made  them,  be- 
cause not  only  for  us,  but  also  (on  our  account)  for  the  animals 
which  are  subject  to  us,  He  has  prepared  such  a  home,^  seeing 
''  Pie  causeth  the  grass  to  grow  for  the  cattle,  and  herb  for  the 
service  of  man,  that  He  may  bring  forth  food  out  of  the  earth, 
and  wine  that  maketli  glad  the  heart  of  man,  and  oil  to  make 
his  face  to  shine,  and  bread  which  strengtheneth  man's  heart."* 
But  that  He  should  have  provided  food  even  for  the  most 
savage  animals  is  not  matter  of  surprise,  for  these  very  animals 
are  said  by  some  who  have  philosophized  [upon  the  subject]  to 
have  been  created  for  the  purpose  of  affording  exercise  to  the 

^  IdTixi/.  *  Cf.  Ps.  civ.  14,  15. 

ORIG. — VOL.  II.  Q 


242  OrJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

rational  creature.  And  one  of  our  own  wise  men  says  some- 
where :  "  Do  not  say,  What  is  this  ?  or  Wherefore  is  that  ?  for 
all  things  liave  heen  made  for  their  uses.  And  do  not  say, 
What  is  this  1  or  Wherefore  is  that  ?  for  everything  shall  be 
sought  out  in  its  season."  ^ 

Chapter  lxxvi. 

After  this,  Celsus,  desirous  of  maintaining  that  Providence 
created  the  products  of  the  earth,  not  more  on  our  account 
than  on  that  of  the  most  savage  animals,  thus  proceeds  :  "  We 
indeed  by  labour  and  suffering  earn  a  scanty  and  toilsome 
subsistence,^  while  all  things  are  produced  for  them  without 
,  their  sowing  and  ploughing."  He  does  not  observe  that  God, 
wishinn  to  exercise  the  human  understandino;  in  all  countries 
(that  it  might  not  remain  idle  and  unacquainted  with  the  arts), 
created  man  a  being  full  of  wants,^  in  order  that  by  virtue 
of  his  very  needy  condition  he  might  be  compelled  to  be  the 
inventor  of  arts,  some  of  Avhich  minister  to  his  subsistence,  and 
others  to  his  protection.  For  it  was  better  that  those  who 
would  not  have  souo-ht  out  divine  thintrs,  nor  engaged  in  the 
study  of  philosophy,  should  be  placed  in  a  condition  of  want, 
in  order  that  they  might  employ  their  understanding  in  the 
invention  of  the  arts,  than  that  they  should  altogether  neglect 
the  cultivation  of  their  minds,  because  their  condition  was  one 
of  abundance.  The  want  of  the  necessaries  of  human  life  led  to 
the  invention  on  the  one  hand  of  the  art  of  husbandry,  on  the 
other  to  that  of  the  cultivation  of  the  vine ;  again,  to  the  art  of 
gardening,  and  the  arts  of  carpentry  and  smithwork,  by  means 
of  which  were  formed  the  tools  required  for  the  arts  which  mini- 
ster to  the  support  of  life.  The  want  of  coA'ering,  again,  intro- 
duced the  art  of  weaving,  which  followed  that  of  wool-carding 
and  spinning  ;  and  again,  that  of  house-building  :  and  thus  the 
intelligence  of  men  ascended  even  to  the  art  of  architecture.  The 
want  of  necessaries  caused  the  products  also  of  other  places  to  be 
conveyed,  by  means  of  the  arts  of  sailing  and  pilotage,*  to  those 
;  who  were  without  them  :  so  that  even  on  that  account  one 
1  might  admire  the  Providence  which  made  the  rational  being 
^  Cf.  Ecclus.  xxxix.  21,  and  IC,  17.  -  f^o'Kt;  k»i  S7n77cvu;. 


Book  iv.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  243 

subject  to  want  in  a  far  higher  degree  than  the  irrational 
animals,  and  yet  all  with  a  view  to  his  advantage.  For  the 
irrational  animals  have  their  food  provided  for  them,  because 
there  is  jiot  in  them  even  an  impulse^  towards  the  invention 
of  the  arts.  They  have,  besides,  a  natural  covering  ;  for  they 
are  provided  either  with  hair,  or  wings,  or  scales,  or  shells. 
Let  the  above,  then,  be  our  answer  to  the  assertions  of  Celsus, 
when  he  says  that  "  we  indeed  by  labour  and  suffering  earn  a 
scanty  and  toilsome  subsistence,  while  all  things  are  produced 
for  them  without  their  sowing  and  ploughing." 

Chapter  lxxvii. 

In  the  next  place,  forgetting  that  his  object  is  to  accuse  both 
Jews  and  Christians,  he  quotes  against  himself  an  iambic  verse 
of  Euripides,  which  is  opposed  to  his  view,  and  joining  issue 
with  the  words,  charcjes  them  with  beino;  an  erroneous  state- 
ment.  His  words  are  as  follow  :  "  But  if  you  will  quote  the 
saying  of  Euripides,  that 

'  The  Sun  and  Night  are  to  mortals  slaves,'  ^ 
why  should  they  be  so  in  a  greater  degree  to  us  than  to 
ants  and  flies  ?  For  the  night  is  created  for  them  in  order 
that  they  may  rest,  and  the  day  that  they  may  see  and  re- 
sume their  work."  Now  it  is  undoubted,  that  not  only  have 
certain  of  the  .Tews  and  Christians  declared  that  the  sun  and 
the  heavenly  bodies  ^  are  our  servants  ;  but  he  also  has  said  this, 
who,  according  to  some,  is  the  philosopher  of  the  stage,^  and 
who  was  a  hearer  of  the  lectures  on  the  philosophy  of  nature 
delivered  by  Anaxagoras.  But  this  man  asserts  that  all 
things  in  the  world  are  subject  to  all  rational  beings, — one 
rational  nature  being  taken  to  represent  all,  on  the  principle  of 
a  part  standing  for  the  whole  ;^  which,  again,  clearly  appears 
from  the  verse  : 

"  The  Sun  and  Night  are  to  mortals  slaves." 
Perhaps  the  tragic  poet  meant  the  day  when  he  said  the  sun, 

1  cKpopu,-/}!/.  -  Cf.  Eurip.  Phceniss.  v.  512.  ^  rx  h  ovpavu. 

^  6  Kxrcc  Tivec;  1x,n'jix.o;  (?;A(>'(7o?'oj.  Euripides  himself  is  the  person  alluded 
to.  He  is  called  by  Atheuseus  and  Clemens  Alexandiinus  (^Strom.  v.),  o  i'zl 
T^g  Gxyiyy;;  (piAoao^Oi, — De  LA  EUE. 


244  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book:  iv. 

inasmuch  as  it  is  the  cause  of  the  day, — teaching  that  those 
things  which  most  need  the  day  and  night  are  the  things  which 
are  tinder  the  moon,  and  other  things  in  a  less  degree  than 
those  which  are  upon  the  earth.  Day  and  night,  then,  are 
subject  to  mortals,  being  created  for  the  sake  of  rational  beings. 
And  if  ants  and  flies,  which  labour  by  day  and  rest  by  night, 
have,  besides,  the  benefit  of  those  things  which  were  created 
for  the  sake  of  men,  we  must  not  say  that  day  and  night  were 
brought  into  being  for  the  sake  of  ants  and  flies,  nor  must 
we  suppose  that  they  were  created  for  the  sake  of  nothing,  but, 
agreeably  to  the  design  of  Providence,  were  formed  for  the 
sake  of  man. 

Chapter  lxxviii. 

He  next  proceeds  further  to  object  against  himself^  what  is 
said  on  behalf  of  man,  viz.  that  the  irrational  animals  were 
created  on  his  account,  saying  :  "  If  one  were  to  call  us  the 
lords  of  the  animal  creation  because  we  hunt  the  other  animals 
and  live  upon  their  flesh,  we  would  say,  Why  were  not  we 
rather  created  on  their  account,  since  they  hunt  and  devour  us? 
Nay,  xoe  require  nets  and  weapons,  and  the  assistance  of  many 
persons,  along  with  dogs,  when  engaged  in  the  chase ;  while 
they  are  immediately  and  spontaneously  provided  by  nature  with 
weapons  which  easily  bring  us  under  their  power."  And  here 
we  may  observe,  that  the  gift  af  understanding  has  been  be- 
stowed upon  us  as  a  mighty  aid,  far  superior  to  any  weapon 
which  wild  beasts  may  seem  to  possess.  We,  indeed,  who  are 
far  weaker  in  bodily  strength  than  the  beasts,  and  shorter  in 
stature  than  some  of  them,  yet  by  means  of  our  understanding 
obtain  the  mastery,  and  capture  the  huge  elephants.  We 
subdue  by  our  gentle  treatment  those  animals  whose  nature  it 
is  to  be  tamed,  while  with  those  whose  nature  is  different,  or 
which  do  not  appear  likely  to  be  of  use  to  us  when  tamed, 
we  take  such  precautionary  measures,  that  when  we  desire  it, 
we  keep  such  wild  beasts  shut  up  ;  and  when  we  need  the  flesh 
of  their  bodies  for  food,  we  slaughter  them,  as  we  do  those 
beasts  which  are  not  of  a  savage  nature.  The  Creator,  then, 
has  constituted  all  things  the  servants  of  the  rational  being 


Book  iv.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  2-15 

and  of  his  natural  understanding.  For  some  purposes  we 
require  dogs,  say  as  guardians  of  our  sheep-folds,  or  of  our 
cattle-yards,  or  goat-pastures,  or  of  our  dwelHngs ;  and  for 
other  purposes  we  need  oxen,  as  for  agriculture ;  and  for  others, 
atrain,  we  make  use  of  those  which  bear  the  yoke,  or  beasts  of 
burden.  And  so  it  may  be  said  that  the  race  of  lions,  and 
bears,  and  leopards,  and  wild  boars,  and  such  like,  has  been 
given  to  us  in  order  to  call  into  exercise  the  elements  of  tlie 
manly  character  that  exists  within  us. 

Chapter  lxxix. 

In  the  next  place,  in  answer  to  the  human  race,  who  per- 
ceive their  own  superiority,  which  far  exceeds  that  of  the  irra- 
tional animals,  he  says :  "  With  respect  to  your  assertion,  that 
God  gave  you  the  power  to  capture  wild  beasts,  and  to  make 
your  own  use  of  them,  we  would  say  that,  in  all  probability, 
before  cities  were  built,  and  arts  invented,  and  societies  such 
as  now  exist  were  formed,  and  weapons  and  nets  employed, 
men  were  generally  caught  and  devoured  by  wild  beasts,  while 
wild  beasts  were  very  seldom  captured  by  men."  Now,  in 
reference  to  this,  observe  that  although  men  catch  wild  beasts, 
and  wild  beasts  make  prey  of  men,  there  is  a  great  difference 
between  the  case  of  such  as  by  means  of  their  understanding 
obtain  the  mastery  over  those  whose  superiority  consists  in  their 
savage  and  cruel  nature,  and  that  of  those  who  do  not  make 
use  of  their  understanding  to  secure  their  safety  from  injury 
by  wild  beasts.  But  when  Celsus  says,  "  before  cities  were 
built,  and  arts  invented,  and  societies  such  as  now  exist  were 
formed,"  he  appears  to  have  forgotten  what  he  had  before  said, 
that  "  the  world  was  uncreated  and  incorruptible,  and  that  it 
was  only  the  things  on  earth  which  underwent  deluges  and  con- 
flagrations, and  that  all  these  things  did  not  happen  at  the  same 
time."  Now  let  it  be  granted  that  these  admissions  on  his 
part  are  entirely  in  harmony  with  our  views,  though  not  at  all 
with  him  and  his  statements  made  above  ;  yet  what  does  it  all 
avail  to  prove  that  in  the  beginning  men  were  mostly  captured 
and  devoured  by  wild  beasts,  while  wild  beasts  were  never 
caught  by  men  ?  For,  since  the  world  was  created  in  con- 
formity with  the  will  of  Providence,  and  God  presided  over  the 


246  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

universe  of  things,  it  was  necessary  that  the  elements^  of  the 
human  race  should  at  the  commencement  of  its  existence  be 
placed  under  some  protection  of  the  higher  powers,  so  that 
there  might  be  formed  from  the  beginning  a  union  of  the 
divine  nature  with  that  of  men.  And  the  poet  of  Ascra,  per- 
ceiving this,  sings  : 

"  For  common  then  were  banquets,  and  common  were  seats, 
Alike  to  immortal  gods  and  mortal  men."  ^ 

Chapter  lxxx. 

Those  Holy  Scriptures,  moreover,  which  bear  the  name  of 
Moses,  introduce  the  first  men  as  hearing  divine  voices  and 
oracles,  and  beholding  sometimes  the  angels  of  God  coming 
to  visit  them.  For  it  was  probable  that  in  the  beginning 
of  the  world's  existence  human  nature  would  be  assisted  to  a 
greater  degree  [than  afterwards],  until  progress  had  been  made 
towards  the  attainment  of  understanding  and  the  other  virtues, 
and  the  invention  of  the  arts,  and  they  should  thus  be  able  to 
maintain  life  of  themselves,  and  no  longer  stand  in  need  of 
superintendents,  and  of  those  to  guide  them  who  do  so  with  a 
miraculous  manifestation  of  the  means  which  subserve  the  will 
of  God.  Now  it  follows  from  this,  that  it  is  false  that  "in 
the  beginning  men  were  captured  and  devoured  by  wild  beasts, 
while  wild  beasts  were  very  seldom  caught  by  men."  And 
from  this,  too,  it  is  evident  that  the  following  statement  of 
Celsus  is  untrue,  that  "in  this  way  God  rather  subjected  men 
to  wild  beasts."  For  God  did  not  subject  men  to  wild  beasts, 
but  gave  wild  beasts  to  be  a  prey  to  the  understanding  of  man, 
and  to  the  arts,  which  are  directed  against  them,  and  which  are 
the  product  of  the  understanding.  For  it  was  not  without  the 
help  of  God  ^  that  men  desired  for  themselves  the  means  of 
protection  against  wild  beasts,  and  of  securing  the  mastery  over 
them. 

Chapter  lxxxi. 

Our  noble  opponent,  however,  not  observing  how  many 
philosophers  there  are  who  admit  the  existence  of  Providence, 

-  Cf.  Hesiod,  Fra(jmenta  Incerla,  cd.  Goettling,  p.  231. 
^  oi)  '/xp  ccdisL 


Book  iv.]  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  247 

and  who  hold  that  Providence  created  all  things  for  the  sake 
of  rational  beings,  overturns  as  far  as  he  can  those  doctrines 
I  which  are  of  use  in  showing  the  harmony  that  prevails  in  these 
matters  between  Christianity  and  philosophy ;  nor  does  he  see 
how  great  is  the  injury  done  to  religion  from  accepting  the 
statement  that  before  God  there  is  no  difference  between  a 
man  and  an  ant  or  a  bee,  but  proceeds  to  add,  that  "  if  men 
appear  to  be  superior  to  irrational  animals  on  this  account,  that 
they  have  built  cities,  and  make  use  of  a  political  constitution, 
and  forms  of  government,  and  sovereignties,^  this  is  to  say 
nothing  to  the  purpose,  for  ants  and  bees  do  the  same.  Bees, 
indeed,  have  a  sovereign,  who  has  followers  and  attendants ;  and 
there  occur  among  them  wars  and  victories,  and  slaughterings 
of  the  vanquished,^  and  cities  and  suburbs,  and  a  succession  of 
labours,  and  judgments  passed  upon  the  idle  and  the  wicked ; 
for  the  drones  are  driven  away  and  punished."  Now  here  he 
did  not  observe  the  difference  that  exists  between  what  is  done 
after  reason  and  consideration,  and  what  is  the  result  of  an 
irrational  nature,  and  is  purely  mechanical.  For  the  origin  of 
these  things  is  not  explained  by  the  existence  of  any  rational 
principle  in  those  who  make  them,  because  they  do  not  possess 
any  such  principle ;  but  the  most  ancient  Being,  who  is  also  the 
Son  of  God,  and  the  King  of  all  things  that  exist,  has  created 
an  irrational  nature,  which,  as  being  irrational,  acts  as  a  help  to 
those  who  are  deemed  worthy  of  reason.  Cities,  accordingly, 
were  established  among  men,  with  many  arts  and  well-arranged 
laws ;  while  constitutions,  and  governments,  and  sovereignties 
among  men  are  either  such  as  are  properly  so  termed,  and 
which  exemplify  certain  virtuous  tendencies  and  workings,  or 
they  are  those  which  are  improperly  so  called,  and  which  were 
devised,  so  far  as  could  be  done,  in  imitation  of  the  former : 
for  it  was  by  contemplating  these  that  the  most  successful 
legislators  established  the  best  constitutions,  and  governments, 
and  sovereignties.  None  of  these  things,  however,  can  be 
found  among  irrational  animals,  although  Celsus  may  transfer 

-  ruv  '/jTrriCisi/av  otipiasi;.  "Nota  ulpioii;  hoc  loco  sumi  pro  internecioni- 
bus,  cfedibus.  Haud  scio  an  alibi  repeiiatur  pari  significatu.  Forte  etiam 
Bcribendum  Kxdxioian;.''' — Ru^us. 


248  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  i v. 

rational  names,  and  arrangements  which  belong  to  rational 
beings,  as  cities  and  constitutions,  and  rulers  and  sovereignties, 
even  to  ants  and  bees  ;  in  respect  to  which  matters,  however,  ants 
and  bees  merit  no  approval,  because  they  do  not  act  from  reflec- 
tion. But  we  ought  to  admire  the  divine  nature,  which  extended 
even  to  irrational  animals  the  capacity,  as  it  were,  of  imitating 
rational  beings,  perhaps  with  a  view  of  putting  rational  beings 
to  shame ;  so  that  by  looking  upon  ants,  for  instance,  they 
might  become  more  industrious  and  more  thrifty  in  the  man- 
agement of  their  goods ;  while,  by  considering  the  bees,  they 
might  place  themselves  in  subjection  to  their  Euler,  and  take 
their  respective  parts  in  those  constitutional  duties  which  are 
of  use  in  ensuring  the  safety  of  cities. 

Chapter  lxxxii. 

Perhaps  also  the  so-called  wars  among  the  bees  convey  in- 
struction as  to  the  manner  in  which  wars,  if  ever  there  arise 
a  necessity  for  them,  should  be  waged  in  a  just  and  orderlv 
way  among  men.  But  the  bees  have  no  cities  or  suburbs ; 
while  their  hives  and  hexagonal  cells,  and  succession  of  laboui's, 
are  for  the  sake  of  men,  who  require  honey  for  many  purposes, 
both  for  cure  of  disordered  bodies,  and  as  a  pure  article  of 
food.  Nor  ought  we  to  compare  the  proceedings  taken  by  the 
bees  against  the  drones  with  the  judgments  and  punishments 
inflicted  on  the  idle  and  wicked  in  cities.  But,  as  I  formerly 
said,  we  ought  on  the  one  hand  in  these  things  to  admire  the 
divine  nature,  and  on  the  other  to  express  our  admiration  of 
man,  who  is  capable  of  considering  and  admiring  all  things  (as 
co-operating  with  Providence),  and  who  executes  not  merely 
the  works  which  are  determined  by  the  providence  of  God,  but 
also  those  which  are  the  consequences  of  his  own  foresight. 

Chapter  lxxxiii. 

After  Celsus  has  finished  speaking  of  the  bees,  in  order  to 
depreciate  (as  far  as  he  can)  the  cities,  and  constitutions,  and 
governments,  and  sovereignties  not  only  of  us  Christians,  but 
of  all  mankind,  as  well  as  the  wars  which  men  undertake  on 
behalf  of  their  native  countries,  he  proceeds,  by  way  of  digres- 
sion, to  pass   a  eulogy   upon  the  ants,  in   order   that,  ^hile 


Book  iv.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  249 

praising  them,  he  may  compare  the  measures  wliich  men  take 
to  secure  their  subsistence  with  those  adopted  by  these  insects,^ 
and  so  evince  his  contempt  for  the  forethought  which  makes 
provision  for  winter,  as  being  nothing  higher  than  the  irrational 
providence  of  the  ants,  as  he  regards  it.  Now  might  not  some 
of  the  more  simple-minded,  and  such  as  know  not  how  to  look 
into  the  nature  of  all  things,  be  turned  away  (so  far,  at  least,  as 
Celsus  could  accomplish  it)  from  helping  those  who  are  weighed 
down  with  the  burdens  [of  life],  and  from  sharing  their  toils, 
when  he  says  of  the  ants,  that  "  they  help  one  another  with 
their  loads,  when  they  see  one  of  their  number  toiling  under 
them  ?"  For  he  who  needs  to  be  disciplined  by  the  word,  but 
who  does  not  at  all  understand^  its  voice,  will  say  :  "  Since, 
then,  there  is  no  difference  betw^een  us  and  the  ants,  even  when 
we  help  those  who  are  weary  with  bearing  their  heavy  burdens, 
why  should  we  continue  to  do  so  to  no  purpose?"  And  would 
not  the  ants,  as  being  irrational  creatures,  be  greatly  puffed  up, 
and  think  highly  of  themselves,  because  their  works  were  com- 
pared to  those  of  men  ?  while  men,  on  the  other  hand,  who 
by  means  of  their  reason  are  enabled  to  hear  how  their  philan- 
thropy^ towards  others  is  contemned,  would  be  injured,  so 
far  as  could  be  effected  by  Celsus  and  his  arguments  :  for  he 
does  not  perceive  that,  while  he  wishes  to  turn  away  from 
Christianity  those  who  read  his  treatise,  he  turns  away  also  the 
sympathy  of  those  who  are  not  Christians  from  those  who  bear 
the  heaviest  burdens  [of  life].  Whereas,  had  he  been  a  philo- 
sopher, who  was  capable  of  perceiving  the  good  which  men  may 
do  each  other,  he  ought,  in  addition  to  not  removing  along  with 
Christianity  the  blessings  which  are  found  amongst  men,  to  have 
lent  his  aid  to  co-operate  (if  he  had  it  in  his  power)  with  those 
principles  of  excellence  which  are  common  to  Christianity  and 
the  rest  of  mankind.  Moreover,  even  if  the  ants  set  apart  in  a 
place  by  themselves  those  grains  which  sprout  forth,  that  they 
may  not  swell  into  bud,  but  may  continue  throughout  the  year 
as  their  food,  this  is  not  to  be  deemed  as  evidence  of  the  exist- 
ence of  reason  among  ants,  but  as  the  work  of  the  universal 

^  5r«pflS/3«X5j  ri   T^oyu  -Trpog  roiig  ftvpfcyiKX;.      "  Verba  :   T6j   Xoyw  wpoj  "zov; 

fivpin/inKs  addititia  videutur  et  recideuda." — Ru^us. 

^  iTiXlUV.  ^  TO  KOIVUViKOV. 


250  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

I  mother,  Nature,    which  adorned   even    irrational  animals,  so 

that  even  the  most  insiouificaut  is  not  omitted,  but  bears  traces 
j\  ... 

of  the  reason  implanted  in  it  by  nature.      Unless,  indeed,  by  ' 

these  assertions  Celsus  means    obscurely  to    intimate   (for  in 
many  instances  he  would  like  to  adopt  Platonic  ideas)  that  all ; 
souls  are  of  the  same  species,  and  tliat  there  is  no  difference 
.  between  that  of  a  man  and  those  of  ants  and  bees,  which  is  the 
';  act  of  one  who  would  bring  down  the  soul  from  the  vault  of 
/  heaven,  and  cause  it  to  enter  not  only  a  human  body,  but  that 
;)  of  an  animal.       Christians,  however,  will  not  yield  their  assent 
ij  to  such  opinions  :  for  they  have  been  instructed  before  now  that 
i  \  the  human  soul  was  created  in  the  image  of  God ;  and  they  see 
that  it  is  impossible  for  a  nature  fashioned  in  the  divine  image 
to  have  its  [original]    features    altogether   obliterated,  and  to 
assume  others,  formed  after  I  know  not  what  likeness  of  irra- 
tional animals. 

Chapter  lxxxiv. 

And  since  he  asserts  that,  "  when  ants  die,  the  survivors  set 
apart  a  special  place  [for  their  interment],  and  that  their  ancestral 
sepulchres  such  a  place  is,"  we  have  to  answer,  that  the  greater 
the  laudations  which  he  heaps  upon  irrational  animals,  so  much 
the  more  does  he  magnify  (although  against  his  will)  the  work 
of  that  reason  which  arranged  all  things  in  order,  and  points 
out  the  skill^  which  exists  among  men,  and  wdiich  is  capable 
of  adorning  by  its  reason  even  the  gifts  which  are  bestowed  by 
nature  on  the  irrational  creation.  But  why  do  I  say  "irrational," 
since  Celsus  is  of  opinion  that  these  animals,  which,  agreeably 
to  the  common  ideas  of  all  men,  are  termed  irrational,  are  not 
really  so?  Nor  does  he  regard  the  ants  as  devoid  of  reason, 
who  professed  to  speak  of  "  universal  nature,"  and  who  boasted 
of  his  truthfulness  in  the  inscription  of  his  book.  For,  speak- 
ing of  the  ants  conversing  with  one  another,  he  uses  the  fol- 
lowing language :  "  And  when  they  meet  one  another  they 
enter  into  conversation,  for  which  reason  they  never  mistake 
their  way;  consequently  they  possess  a  full  endowment  of 
reason,  and  some  common  ideas  on  certain  general  subjects,  and 
a  voice  by  which  they  express  themselves  regarding  accidental 


I 


Book  iv.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  251 

(things."^  Now  conversation  between  one  man  and  another  is 
/  carried  on  by  means  of  a  voice,  which  gives  expression  to  the 
I  meaning  intended,  and  which  also  gives  utterances  concerning 
\  what  are  called  "  accidental  things  ; "  but  to  say  that  this  was 
the  case  with  ants  would  be  a  most  ridiculous  assertion. 

Chapter  lxxxv. 

He  is  not  ashamed,  moreover,  to  say,  in  addition  to  these 
statements  (that  the  unseemly  character^  of  his  opinions  may 
be  manifest  to  those  who  will  live  after  him) :  "  Come  now,  if 
one  were  to  look'  down  from  heaven  upon  earth,  in  what  respect 
would  our  actions  appear  to  differ  from  those  of  ants  and 
bees?"  Now  does  he  who,  according  to  his  own  supposition, 
looks  from  heaven  upon  the  proceedings  of  men  and  ants,  look 
upon  their  bodies  alone,  and  not  rather  have  regard  to  the  con- 
{ trolling  reason  which  is  called  into  action  by  reflection ;  ^ 
!  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  guiding  principle  of  the  latter  is 
irrational,  and  set  in  motion  irrationally  by  impulse  and  fancy, 
in  conjunction  with  a  certain  natural  apparatus?"^  But  it 
is  absurd  to  suppose  that  he  who  looks  from  heaven  upon 
earthly  things  would  desire  to  look  from  such  a  distance  upon 
the  bodies  of  men  and  ants,  and  Avould  not  rather  consider  the 
nature  of  the  guiding  principles,  and  the  source  of  impulses, 
whether  that  be  rational  or  irrational.  And  if  he  once  look 
upon  the  source  of  all  impulses,  it  is  manifest  that  he  would 
behold  also  the  difference  which  exists,  and  the  superiority  of 
man,  not  only  over  ants,  but  even  over  elephants.  For  he  who 
looks  from  heaven  will  see  among  irrational  creatures,  however 
large  their  bodies,  no  other  principle  ^  than,  so  to  speak,  irration- 
ality -J^  while  amongst  rational  beings  he  will  discover  reason,  the 
common  possession  of  men,  and  of  divine  and  heavenly  beings, 
and  perhaps  of  the  supreme  God  Himself,  on  account  of  which 

^  ouKOuv  Kxl  Ao'yoy  cvfiTrT^'/ipaaig  iGTi  'TTO.p'  a.iiroi';,  -aciX  koivuI  svuoixi  KxdoT^t- 
KMV,  Tfjuv  Kccl  ifav/„  Kccl  ■zvy^oc.vo'jroi.  a-/ii^cci'j6i^i'jci. 

o'j  KctTdvoii  oi  TO  7\o'-/iKov  '/lyifioviKov  Ktx.1  'ht^yiai.w  y,{uovfiivov ; 
*  fiiTX  Tivo;  (^vatKTi;  v':70-/,ct-U(jKivvi;. 
5  dpxVJ- 
**  T'^v  dy^oylciv. 


252  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

man  is  said  to  have  been  created  in  the  image  of  God,  for  the 
image  of  the  Supreme  God  is  his  reason.^ 

Chapter  lxxxvi. 

Immediately  after  this,  as  if  doing  his  utmost  to  reduce  the 
human  race  to  a  still  lower  position,  and  to  bring  them  to  the 
level  of  the  irrational  animals,  and  desiring  to  omit  not  a  single 
circumstance  related  of  the  latter  which  manifests  their  great- 
ness, he  declares  that  "in  certain  individuals  among  the  irra- 
tional creation  there  exists  the  power  of  sorcery ; "  so  that  even 
in  this  particular  men  cannot  specially  pride  themselves,  nor 
wish  to  arrogate  a  superiority  over  irrational  creatures.  And 
the  following  are  his  words :  "  If,  however,  men  entertain  lofty 
notions  because  of  their  possessing  the  power  of  sorcery,  yet 
even  in  that  respect  are  serpents  and  eagles  their  superiors  in 
wisdom;  for  they  are  acquainted  with  many  prophylactics  against 
persons  and  diseases,  and  also  with  the  virtues  of  certain  stones 
which  help  to  preserve  their  young.  If  men,  however,  fall  in 
with  these,  they  think  that  they  have  gained  a  wonderful  pos- 
session." Now,  in  the  first  place,  I  know  not  why  he  should 
designate  as  sorcery  the  knowledge  of  natural  prophylactics 
displayed  by  animals, — whether  that  knowledge  be  the  result 
of  experience,  or  of  some  natural  power  of  apprehension ;  ^  for 
the  term  '' sorcery "  has  by  usage  been  assigned  to  something 
else.  Perhaps,  indeed,  he  wishes  quietly,  as  an  Epicurean,  to 
censure  the  entire  use  of  such  arts,  as  resting  only  on  the 
professions  of  sorcerers.  However,  let  it  be  granted  him  that 
men  do  pride  themselves  greatly  upon  the  knowledge  of  such 
arts,  whether  they  are  sorcerers  or  not :  how  can  serpents 
be  in  this  respect  wiser  than  men,  when  they  make  use  of  the 
well-known  fennel^  to  sharpen  their  power  of  vision  and  to 
produce  rapidity  of  movement,  having  obtained  this  natural 
power  not  from  the  exercise  of  reflection,  but  from  the  con- 
stitution of  their  body,*  while  men  do  not,  like  serpents, 
arrive  at  such  knowledge  merely  by  nature,  but  partly  by 
experiment,  partly  by  reason,  and  sometimes  by  reflection  and 
knowledge  ?     So,  if  eagles,  too,  in  order  to  preserve  their  young 


Book  IV.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  253 

in  the  nest,  cany  thither  the  eagle-stone  when  they  have  dis- 
covered it,  how  does  it  appear  that  they  are  wise,  and  more 
intelligent  than  men,  who  find  out  by  the  exercise  of  their 
reflective  powers  and  of  their  understanding  what  has  been 
bestowed  by  nature  upon  eagles  as  a  gift? 

Chapter  lxxxvii. 

Let  it  be  granted,  however,  that  there  are  other  prophylac- 
tics against  poisons  known  to  animals :  what  does  that  avail  to 
prove  that  it  is  not  nature,  but  reason,  which  leads  to  the  dis- 
covery of  such  things  among  them?  For  if  reason  were  the 
discoverer,  this  one  thing  (or,  if  you  will,  one  or  two  more 
things)  would  not  be  (exclusive^  of  all  others)  the  sole  discovery 
made  by  serpents,  and  some  other  thing  the  sole  discovery  of 
the  eagle,  and  so  on  with  the  rest  of  the  animals ;  but  as  many 
discoveries  would  have  been  made  amongst  them  as  among 
men.  But  now  it  is  manifest  from  the  determinate  inclina- 
tion of  the  nature  of  each  animal  towards  certain  kinds  of 
help,  that  they  possess  neither  wisdom  nor  reason,  but  a  natural 
constitutional  tendency  implanted  by  the  Logos"  towards  such 
things  in  order  to  ensure  the  preservation  of  the  animal.  And, 
indeed,  if  I  wished  to  join  issue  with  Celsus  in  these  matters,  I 
might  quote  the  words  of  Solomon  from  the  book  of  Proverbs, 
which  run  thus :  "  There  be  four  things  which  are  little  upon 
the  earth,  but  these  are  wiser  than  the  wise :  The  ants  are  a 
people  not  strong,  yet  they  prepare  their  meat  in  the  summer ; 
the  conies  ^  are  but  a  feeble  folk,  yet  make  they  their  houses 
in  the  rocks;  the  locusts  have  no  king,  yet  go  they  forth  in 
order  at  one  command ;  and  the  spotted  lizard,*  though  lean- 
ing upon  its  hands,  and  being  easily  captured,  dwelleth  in  kings' 
fortresses."  ^  I  do  not  quote  these  words,  however,  as  taking 
them  in  their  literal  signification,  but,  agreeably  to  the  title  of 
the  book  (for  it  is  inscribed  "Proverbs"),  I  investigate  them 
as  containing  a  secret  meaninfx.     For  it  is  the  custom  of  these 

-  iiiza  Toy  'hoyou  yi'/ivriyAvYi- 

^   ■^otpoypvT^'KiOi.       Heb.    D''iS5J'' 

*  cLcKctKoe.liuT/i: . 

*  Cf.  Prov.  XXX.  24-28. 


254  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

Aviiters  [of  Scripture]  to  distribute  into  many  classes  those  writ- 
ings which  express  one  sense  when  taken  literally,^  but  which 
convey  a  different  signification  as  their  hidden  meaning ;  and 
one  of  these  kinds  of  writing  is  "  Proverbs."  And  for  this 
reason,  in  our  Gospels  too,  is  our  Saviour  described  as  saying : 
"  These  things  have  I  spoken  to  you  in  proverbs,  but  the  time 
Cometh  when  I  shall  no  more  speak  unto  you  in  proverbs."^ 
It  is  not,  then,  the  visible  ants  which  are  "  wiser  even  than  the 
wise,"  but  they  who  are  indicated  as  such  under  the  "pro- 
verbial" style  of  expression.  And  such  must  be  our  conclusion 
regarding  the  rest  of  the  animal  creation,  although  Celsus 
regards  the  books  of  the  Jews  and  Christians  as  exceedingly 
simple  and  commonplace,^  and  imagines  that  those  who  give 
them  an  allegorical  interpretation  do  violence  to  the  meaning 
of  the  writers.  By  what  we  have  said,  then,  let  it  appear 
that  Celsus  calumniates  us  in  vain,  and  let  his  assertions  that 
serpents  and  eagles  are  wiser  than  men  also  receiv.e  their 
refutation. 

Chapter  lxxxviii. 

And  wishing  to  show  at  greater  length  that  even  the  thoughts 
of  God  entertained  by  the  human  race  are  not  superior  to  those 
of  all  other  mortal  creatures,  but  that  certain  of  the  irrational 
animals  are  capable  of  thinking  about  Him  regarding  whom 
opinions  so  discordant  have  existed  among  the  most  acute  of 
mankind — Greeks  and  Barbarians — he  continues:  "If,  because 
man  has  been  able  to  grasp  the  idea  of  God,  he  is  deemed 
superior  to  the  other  animals,  let  those  who  hold  this  opinion 
know  that  this  capacity  will  be  claimed  by  many  of  the  other 
animals ;  and  with  good  reason :  for  what  would  any  one  main- 
tain to  be  more  divine  than  the  power  of  foreknowing  and  pre- 
dicting future  events  ?  ISIen  accordingly  acquire  the  art  from 
the  other  animals,  and  especially  from  birds.  And  those  who 
listen  to  the  indications  furnished  by  them,  become  possessed  of 
the  gift  of  prophecy.  If,  then,  birds,  and  the  other  prophetic 
animals,  which  are  enabled  by  the  gift  of  God  to  foreknow 
events,  instruct  us  by  means  of  signs,  so  much  the  nearer  do 
they  seem  to  be  to  the  society  of  God,  and  to  be  endowed  with 

^  aiiTodtv.  ^  John  xvi.  25.  "  Hiutiku.. 


Book  iv.]  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  255 

greater  wisclom,  and  to  be  more  beloved  by  Him.  The  more 
intelligent  of  men,  moreover,  say  that  the  animals  hold  meet- 
ings which  are  more  sacred  than  onr  assemblies,  and  that 
they  know  what  is  said  at  these  meetings,  and  show  that  in 
reality  they  possess  this  knowledge,  when,  having  previously 
stated  that  the  birds  have  declared  their  intention  of  departing 
to  some  particular  place,  and  of  doing  this  thing  or  the  other, 
the  truth  of  their  assertions  is  established  by  the  departure  of 
the  birds  to  the  place  in  question,  and  by  their  doing  what  was 
foretold.  And  no  race  of  animals  appears  to  be  more  observant 
of  oaths  than  the  elephants  are,  or  to  show  greater  devotion  to 
divine  things ;  and  this,  I  presume,  solely  because  they  have 
some  knowledge  of  God."  See  here  now  how  he  at  once  lays 
hold  of,  and  brings  forward  as  acknowledged  facts,  questions 
which  are  the  subject  of  dispute  among  those  philosophers,  not 
only  among  the  Greeks,  but  also  among  the  Barbarians,  who  have 
either  discovered  or  learned  from  certain  demons  some  things 
about  birds  of  augury  and  other  animals,  by  which  certain 
prophetic  intimations  are  said  to  be  made  to  men.  For,  in  the 
first  place,  it  has  been  disputed  whether  there  is  an  art  of 
augury,  and,  in  general,  a  method  of  divination  by  animals,  or 
not.  And,  in  the  second  place,  they  who  admit  that  there  is  an 
art  of  divination  by  birds,  are  not  agreed  about  the  manner  of 
the  divination ;  since  some  maintain  that  it  is  from  certain 
demons  or  gods  of  divination^  that  the  animals  receive  their 
impulses  to  action — the  birds  to  flights  and  sounds  of  different 
kinds,  and  the  other  animals  to  movements  of  one  sort  or 
another.  Others,  again,  believe  that  their  souls  are  more 
divine  in  their  nature,  and  fitted  to  operations  of  that  kind, 
which  is  a  most  incredible  supposition. 

Chapter  lxxxix. 

Celsus,  however,  seeing  he  wished  to  prove  by  the  foregoing 
statements  that  the  irrational  animals  are  more  divine  and 
intelligent  than  human  beings,  ought  to  have  established  at 
greater  length  the  actual  existence  of  such  an  art  of  divina- 
tion, and  in  the  next  place  have  energetically  undertaken  its 
defence,  and  effectually  refuted  the  arguments  of  those  who 

^  6kav  fidi/Tty^Zu. 


256  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

would  annihilate  such  arts  of  divination,  and  have  overturned 
in  a  convincing  manner  also  the  arguments  of  those  who  say- 
that  it  is  from  demons  or  from  gods  that  animals  receive 
the  movements  which  lead  them  to  divination,  and  to  have 
proved  in  the  next  place  that  the  soul  of  irrational  animals  is 
more  divine  than  that  of  man.  For,  had  he  done  so,  an-d 
manifested  a  philosophical  spirit  in  dealing  with  such  things, 
we  should  to  the  best  of  our  power  have  met  his  confident 
assertions,  refuting  in  the  first  place  the  allegation  that  irra- 
tional animals  are  wiser  than  men,  and  showing  the  falsity  of 
the  statement  that  they  have  ideas  of  God  more  sacred  than 
ours,  and  that  they  hold  among  themselves  certain  sacred  assem- 
blies. But  now,  on  the  contrary,  he  who  accuses  us  because 
we  believe  in  the  Supreme  God,  requires  us  to  believe  that  the 
souls  of  birds  entertain  ideas  of  God  more  divine  and  distinct 
than  those  of  men.  Yet  if  this  is  true,  the  birds  have  clearer 
ideas  of  God  than  Celsus  himself ;  and  it  is  not  matter  of  sur- 
prise that  it  should  be  so  with  him,  who  so  greatly  depreciates 
human  beings.  Nay,  so  far  as  Celsus  can  make  it  appear,  the 
birds  possess  grander  and  more  divine  ideas  than,  I  do  not 
say  we  Christians  do,  or  than  the  Jews,  who  use  the  same 
Scriptures  with  ourselves,  but  even  than  are  possessed  by  the 
theologians  among  the  Greeks,  for  they  were  only  human 
beings.  According  to  Celsus,  indeed,  the  tribe  of  birds  that 
practise  divination,  forsooth,  understand  the  nature  of  the 
Divine  Being  better  than  Pherecydes,  and  Pythagoras,  and 
Socrates,  and  Plato !  We  ought  then  to  go  to  the  birds  as  our 
teachers,  in  order  that  as,  according  to  the  view  of  Celsus,  they 
instruct  us  by  their  power  of  divination  in  the  knowledge  of 
future  events,  so  also  they  may  free  men  from  doubts  regarding 
the  Divine  Being,  by  imparting  to  them  the  clear  ideas  which  they 
have  obtained  respecting  Him !  It  follows,  accordingly,  that 
Celsus,  who  regards  birds  as  superior  to  men,  ought  to  employ 
them  as  his  instructors,  and  not  one  of  the  Greek  philosophers ! 

Chapter  xc. 

But  we  have  a  few  remarks  to  make,  out  of  a  larger  number, 
in  answer  to  these  statements  of  Celsus,  that  we  may  show  the 
ingratitude  towards  his  Maker  which  is  involved  in  his  holding 


Book  iy.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  257 

these  false  opinions.^  For  Celsus,  although  a  man,  and  "  being 
in  honour,"  ^  does  not  possess  understanding,  and  therefore  he 
did  not  compare  himself  with  the  birds  and  the  other  irrational 
animals,  ^Yhicll  he  regards  as  capable  of  divining ;  but  yielding 
to  them  the  foremost  place,  he  lowered  himself,  and  as  far  as 
he  could  the  whole  human  race  with  him  (as  entertaining  lower 
an4  inferior  views  of  God  than  the  irrational  animals),  beneath 
the  Egyptians,  who  worship  irrational  animals  as  divinities.  Let 
the  principal  point  of  investigation,  however,  be  this :  whether 
there  actually  is  or  not  an  art  of  divination,  by  means  of  birds 
and  other  living  things  believed  to  have  such  power.  For  the 
arguments  which  tend  to  establish  either  view  are  not  to  be 
despised.  On  the  one  hand,  it  is  pressed  upon  us  not  to 
admit  such  an  art,  lest  the  rational  being  should  abandon 
the  divine  oracles,  and  betake  himself  to  birds ;  and  on  the 
other,  there  is  the  energetic  testimony  of  many,  that  nume- 
rous individuals  have  been  saved  from  the  OTeatest  daniiers 
by  putting  their  trust  in  divination  by  birds.  For  the  pre- 
sent, however,  let  it  be  granted  that  an  art  of  divination 
does  exist,  in  order  that  I  may  in  this  way  show  to  those  who 
are  prejudiced  on  the  subject,  that  if  this  be  admitted,  the 
superiority  of  man  over  irrational  animals,  even  over  those  that 
are  endowed  with  power  of  divination,  is  great,  and  beyond  all 
reach  of  comparison  with  the  latter.  We  have  then  to  say, 
that  if  there  was  in  them  any  divine  nature  capable  of  fore- 
telling future  events,  and  so  rich  [in  that  knowledge]  as  out 
of  its  superabundance  to  make  them  known  to  any  man  who 
wished  to  know  them,  it  is  manifest  that  they  would  know 
what  concerned  themselves  far  sooner  [than  what  concerned 
others] ;  and  had  they  possessed  this  knowledge,  they  would 
have  been  upon  their  guard  against  flying  to  any  particular 
place  where  men  had  planted  snares  and  nets  to  catch  them,  or 
where  archers  took  aim  and  shot  at  them  in  their  flight.  And 
especially,  were  eagles  aware  beforehand  of  the  designs  formed 
against  their  young,  either  by  serpents  crawling  up  to  their 
nests  and  destroying  them,  or  by  men  who  take  them  for 
their  amusement,  or  for  any  other  useful  purpose  or  service, 
they  would  not  have  placed  their  young  in  a  spot  where  they 

^  T'/.'j  dycxptarov  ^evoooo^iuv.  ^  Ps.  xlix.  12. 

ORIG.— VOL.  II.  E 


258  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSVS.  [Book  iv. 

were  to  be  attacked  ;  and,  in  general,  not  one  of  these  animals 
would  have  been  captured  by  men,  because  they  were  more 
divine  and  intelligent  than  they. 

Chaptee  xct. 

But  besides,  if  birds  of  augury  converse  with  one  another,'  as 
Celsus  maintains  they  do,  the  prophetic  birds  having  a  divine 
nature,  and  the  other  rational  animals  also  ideas  of  the  divinity 
and  foreknowledge  of  future  events  ;  and  if  they  had  communi- 
cated this  knowledge  to  others,  the  sparrow  mentioned  in  Homer 
would  not  have  built  her  nest  in  the  spot  where  a  serpent  was 
to  devour  her  and  her  young  ones,  nor  would  the  serpent  in 
the  M'ritings  of  the  same  poet  have  failed  to  take  precaution? 
against  being  captured  by  the  eagle.  For  this  wonderful  poet 
says,  in  his  poem  regarding  the  former ; 

"A  mighty  dragon  shot,  of  dire  portent; 
From  Jove  himself  the  dreadful  sign  -was  sent. 
Straight  to  the  three  his  sanguine  spires  he  rolled, 
And  curled  around  in  many  a  winding  fold. 
The  topmost  branch  a  mother  bird  possessed ; 
Eight  callow  infants  filled  the  mossy  nest ; 
Herself  the  ninth  :  the  serpent,  as  he  hung. 
Stretched  his  black  jaws,  and  crushed  the  dying  young; 
While  hovering  near,  with  miserable  moan, 
The  drooping  mother  wailed  her  children  gone. 
The  mother  last,  as  round  the  nest  she  flew, 
Seized  by  the  beating  wing,  the  monster  slew : 
Nor  long  sui-vived  :  to  marble  turned,  he  stands 
A  lasting  prodigy  on  Aulis  sands. 
Such  was  the  will  of  Jove ;  and  hence  we  dare 
Trust  in  his  omen,  and  support  the  Avar."^ 

And  regarding  the  second — the  bird — the  poet  says : 

"  Jove's  bird  on  rounding  pinions  beat  the  skies, 
A  bleeding  serpent  of  enormous  size, 
His  talons  twined ;  alive,  and  curling  round, 
He  stung  the  bird,  whose  throat  received  the  wound. 
Mad  with  the  smart,  he  drops  the  fatal  prey, 
In  airy  circles  wings  his  painful  way, 

^  uvip  oiavol  olavoig  ft,»)(,ovrce.t.     For  (jt.a.x'^vTa.i  RuSBUS  conjectures  ^loiXi- 
•/(unui,  which  is  adopted  by  Lommatzsch. 
^  Homer,  Ilias,  ii.  308  sq^.  (Pope's  translation.) 


Book  IV.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  259 

Floats  on  the  winds,  and  rends  the  heaven  with  cries ; 
Amidst  the  host,  the  fallen  serpent  lies. 
They,  pale  with  terror,  mark  its  spires  unrolled, 
And  Jove's  portent  with  beating  hearts  behold."^ 

Did  the  eagle,  then,  possess  the  power  of  divination,  and  the 
serpent  (since  this  animal  also  is  made  use  of  by  the  augurs) 
not?  But  as  this  distinction  can  be  easily  refuted,  cannot  the 
assertion  that  both  were  capable  of  divination  be  refuted  also  ? 
For  if  the  serpent  had  possessed  this  knowledge,  would  not  he 
have  been  on  his  guard  against  suffering  what  he  did  from  the 
eagle  ?  And  innumerable  other  instances  of  a  similar  character 
may  be  found,  to  show  that  animals  do  not  possess  a  prophetic 
soul,  but  that,  according  to  the  poet  and  the  majority  of  man- 
kind, it  is  the  "  Olympian  himself  who  sent  him  to  the  light." 
And  it  is  with  a  symbolical  meaning^  that  Apollo  employs  the 
hawk^  as  his  messenger,  for  the  hawk^  is  called  the  "swift 
messenger  of  Apollo."  ^ 

Chapter  xcii. 

In  my  opinion,  however,  it  is  certain  wicked  demons,  and,  so 
to  speak,  of  the  race  of  Titans  or  Giants,  who  have  been  guilty 
of  impiety  towards  the  true  God,  and  towards  the  angels  in 
heaven,  and  who  have  fallen  from  it,  and  who  haunt  the 
denser  parts  of  bodies,  and  frequent  unclean  places  upon  earth, 
and  who,  possessing  some  power  of  distinguishing  future  events, 
because  they  are  without  bodies  of  earthly  material,  engage  in 
an  employment  of  this  kind,  and  desiring  to  lead  the  human 
race  away  from  the  true  God,  secretly  enter  the  bodies  of  the 
more  rapacious  and  savage  and  wicked  of  animals,  and  stir 
them  up  to  do  whatever  they  choose,  and  at  whatever  time  they 
choose:  either  turnincr  the  fancies  of  these  animals  to  make 
flights  and  movements  of  various  kinds,  in  order  that  men  may 
be  caught  by  the  divining  power  that  is  in  the  irrational 
animals,  and  neglect  to  seek  after  the  God  who  contains  all 

1  Homer,  Ilias,  xii.  290  sq.  (Pope's  translation.) 

*  xipy,o;,  "  the  hen-harrier,"  "Falco,"  or  "  Circus  pygargus."    Cf.  Liddell 
and  Scott,  s.v. 
^  Cf.  Homer,  Odyss,  sv.  v.  626. 


260  OniGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

things ;  or  to  search  after  the  pure  %Yorship  of  God,  but  allow 
their  reasoning  powers  to  grovel  on  the  earth,  and  amongst 
birds  and  serpents,  and  even  foxes  and  wolves.  For  it  has 
been  observed  by  those  who  are  skilled  in  such  matters,  that 
the  clearest  prognostications  are  obtained  from  anim&,ls  of  this 
kind  ;  because  the  demons  cannot  act  so  effectively  in  the 
milder  sort  of  animals  as  they  can  in  these,  in  consequence 
of  the  similarity  between  them  in  point  of  wickedness ;  and 
yet  it  is  not  wickedness,  but  something  like  wickedness,^  which 
exists  in  these  animals. 

Chapter  xciii. 

For  which  reason,  whatever  else  there  may  be  in  the  writings 
of  Moses  which  excites  my  wonder,  I  would  say  that  the  fol- 
lowing is  worthy  of  admiration,  viz,  that  Moses,  having  observed 
the  varying  natures  of  animals,  and  having  either  learned  from 
God  what  was  peculiar  to  them,  and  to  the  demons  which  are 
kindred  to  each  of  the  animals,  or  having  himself  ascertained 
these  things  by  his  own  wisdom,  has,  in  arranging  the  differ- 
ent kinds  of  animals,  pronounced  all  those  which  are  sup- 
posed by  the  Egyptians  and  the  rest  of  mankind  to  possess 
the  power  of  divination  to  be  unclean,  and,  as  a  general  rule, 
all  that  are  not  of  that  class  to  be  clean.  And  amongst  the 
unclean  animals  mentioned  by  Moses  are  the  Avolf,  and  fox,  and 
serpent,  and  eagle,  and  hawk,  and  such  like.  And,  generally 
speaking,  you  will  find  that  not  only  in  the  law,  but  also  in 
the  prophets,  these  animals  arc  employed  as  examples  of  all 
that  is  most  wicked ;  and  that  a  wolf  or  a  fox  is  never  men- 
tioned for  a  good  purpose.  Each  species  of  demon,  conse- 
quently, would  seem  to  possess  a  certain  affinity  with  a  certain 
species  of  animal.  And  as  among  men  there  are  some  who 
are  stronger  than  others,  and  this  not  at  all  owing  to  their 
moral  character,  so,  in  the  same  way,  some  demons  will  be 
more  powerful  in  things  indifferent  than  others;"  and  one  class 
of  them  employs  one  kind  of  animal  for  the  purpose  of  delud- 
ing men,  in  accordance  with  the  will  of  him  who  is  called  in 
our  Scriptures  the  "prince  of  this  world,"  while  others  predict 
future  events  by  means  of  another  kind  of  animal.     Observe, 

^  Kcii  ov  KUKixv  y.h,  oiovil  OS  y,uy,!uv  iZfjV.'j.  ^  i'J  yAcoig. 


Book  IV.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  201 

Tnoreover,  to  what  a  pitch  of  ^Yickedness  the  demons  proceed,  so 
that  they  even  assume  the  bodies  of  weasels  in  order  to  reveal 
the  future  !  And  now,  consider  with  yourself  whether  it  is  better 
to  accept  the  belief  that  it  is  the  Supreme  God  and  His  Son 
who  stir  up  the  birds  and  the  other  living  creatures  to  divina- 
tion, or  that  those  who  stir  up  these  creatures,  and  not  human 
beings  (although  they  are  present  before  them),  are  wicked, 
and,  as  they  are  called  by  our  Scriptures,  unclean  demons. 

Chapter  xciv. 

But  if  the  soul  of  birds  is  to  be  esteemed  divine  because 

future  events  are  predicted  by  them,  why  should  we  not  rather 

maintain,  that  when  omens  ^   are   accepted  by  men,  the  souls 

of    those   are  divine   through   which   the   omens   are  heard  ? 

Accordingly,  among   such  would  be  ranked  the  female  slave 

mentioned   in   Plomer,  who  ground  the   corn,  when  she   said 

recrardinfT  the  suitors : 
c  o 

"  For  the  very  last  time,  now,  -u-ill  they  sup  here."  - 

This  slave,  then,  was  divine,  while  the  great  Ulysses,  the  friend 
of  Homer's  Pallas  Athene,  was  not  divine,  but  understanding 
the  words  spoken  by  this  "  divine  "  grinder  of  corn  as  an  omen, 
rejoiced,  as  the  poet  says : 

'•  The  divine  Ulysses  rejoiced  at  the  omen."'  ^ 

Observe,  now,  as  the  birds  are  possessed  of  a  divine  soul,  and 
are  capable  of  perceiving  God,  or,  as  Celsus  says,  the  gods,  it 
is  clear  that  when  we  men  also  sneeze,  we  do  so  in  consequence 
of  a  kind  of  divinity  that  is  within  us,  and  whicli  imparts  a 
prophetic  power  to  our  soul.  For  this  belief  is  testified  by 
many  witnesses,  and  therefore  the  poet  also  says : 

"And  while  he  prayed,  he  sneezed."  * 

And  Penelope,  too,  said  : 

"  Perceiv'st  thou  not  that  at  every  word  my  son  did  sneeze  ?"  ^ 

-  Cf.  Homer,  OJyss.  iv.  v.  685 ;  cf.  also  xx.  vv.  116,  119. 

3  Cf.  Homer,  Odyss.  xx.  120.  •*  Cf.  Homer,  Odyss.  xvii.  oil 

*  Cf.  Homer,  Odyss.  xvii.  545. 


262  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 


Chapter  xcv. 

The  true  God,  however,  neitlier  employs  irrational  animals, 
nor  any  individuals  whom  chance  may  offer,^  to  convey  a 
knowledge  of  the  future  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  most  pure 
and  holy  of  human  souls,  whom  He  inspires  and  endows  with 
prophetic  power.  And  therefore,  whatever  else  in  the  ^Mosaic 
writings  may  excite  our  wonder,  the  following  must  be  con- 
sidered as  fitted  to  do  so :  "  Ye  shall  not  practise  augury,  nor 
observe  the  flight  of  birds ;"^  and  in  another  place:  '•  For  the 
nations  whom  the  Lord  thy  God  will  destroy  from  before  thy 
face,  shall  listen  to  omens  and  divinations ;  but  as  for  thee,  the 
Lord,  thy  God  has  not  suffered  thee  to  do  so."  ^  And  he  adds : 
"  A  prophet  shall  the  Lord  your  God  raise  up  unto  you  from 
among  your  brethren."^  On  one  occasion,  moreover,  God, 
wishing  by  means  of  an  augur  to  turn  away  [His  people]  from 
the  practice  of  divination,  caused  the  spirit  that  was  in  the 
augur  to  speak  as  follows :  "  For  there  is  no  enchantriient  in 
Jacob,  nor  is  there  divination  in  Israel.  In  due  time  will  it  be 
declared  to  Jacob  and  Israel  what  the  Lord  will  do."  ^  And 
now,  we  who  knew  these  and  similar  sayings  wish  to  observe 
this  precept  with  the  mystical  meaning,  viz.  "  Keep  thy  heart 
with  all  diligence,"  ^  that  nothing  of  a  demoniacal  nature  may 
enter  into  our  minds,  or  any  spirit  of  our  adversaries  turn  our 
imagination  whither  it  chooses.  But  we  pray  that  the  light  of 
the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  may  shine  in  our  hearts, 
and  that  the  Spirit  of  God  may  dwell  in  our  imaginations,  and 
lead  them  to  contemplate  the  things  of  God ;  for  "  as  many  as 
are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons  of  God."  ^ 

Chapter  xcvi. 

We  ought  to  take  note,  however,  that  the  power  of  foreknow- 
ing the  future  is  by  no  means  a  proof  of  divinity ;  for  in  itself 
it  is  a  thino;  indifferent,  and  is  found  occurriufr  amonn;st  both 
good  and  bad.     Physicians,  at  any  rate,  by  means  of  their  pro- 

^  oiirs  ro7;  rvxovat  ruv  ccu^puTruu. 

2  Cf.  Lev.  xix.  26.     The  Septuagint  here  differs  from  the  Masorctic  text, 
s  Cf.  Deut.  xviii.  14,  cf.  12.        ^  *  Cf.  Deut.  xviii.  16. 

«  Cf.  Num.  xxiii.  23.  ^  jsj-ov.  iv.  23.  '^  Cf.  Rom.  viii.  14. 


Book  TV.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSVS.  2C3 

fessional  skill  foreknow  certain  things,  although  their  character 
may  happen  to  be  bad.  And  in  the  same  'vvay  also  pilots,  al- 
though perhaps  wicked  men,  are  able  to  foretell  the  signs^  [of 
good  or  bad  weather],  and  the  approach  of  violent  tempests 
of  wind,  and  atmospheric  changes,^  because  they  gather  this 
knowledge  from  experience  and  observation,  although  I  do 
not  suppose  that  on  that  account  any  one  would  term  them 
"  gods"  if  their  characters  happened  to  be  bad.  The  assertion, 
then,  of  Celsus  is  false,  when  he  says :  "  What  could  be  called 
more  divine  than  the  power  of  foreknowing  and  foretelling  the 
future  ?"  And  so  also  is  this,  that  "  many  of  the  animals  claim 
to  have  ideas  of  God ;"  for  none  of  the  irrational  animals 
possess  any  idea  of  God.  And  wholly  false,  too,  is  his  asser- 
tion, that  "  the  irrational  animals  are  nearer  the  society  of  God 
[than  men],"  when  even  men  who  are  still  in  a  state  of  wicked- 
ness, however  great  their  progress  in  knowledge,  are  far 
removed  from  that  society.  It  is,  then,  those  alone  who  are 
truly  wise  and  sincerely  religious  who  are  nearer  to  God's 
society ;  such  persons  as  were  our  prophets,  and  Moses,  to 
the  latter  of  whom,  on  account  of  his  exceeding  purity,  the 
Scripture  said :  "  Moses  alone  shall  come  near  the  Lord,  but 
the  rest  shall  not  come  nigh."  ^ 

Chapter  xcvii. 

How  impious,  indeed,  is  the  assertion  of  this  man,  who 
charges  us  with  impiety,  that  "  not  only  are  the  irrational, 
animals  wiser  than  the  human  race,  but  that  they  are  more 
beloved  by  God  [than  they]  !"  And  who  would  not  be  repelled 
[by  horror]  from  paying  any  attention  to  a  man  who  declared 
that  a  serpent,  and  a  fox,  and  a  wolf,  and  an  eagle,  and  a  hawk, 
were  more  beloved  by  God  than  the  human  race?  For  it 
follows  from  his  maintaining  such  a  position,  that  if  these 
animals  be  more  beloved  by  God  than  human  beings,  it  is 
manifest  that  they  are  dearer  to  God  than  Socrates,  and  Plato, 
and  Pythagoras,  and  Pherecydes,  and  those  theologians  whose 
praises  he  had  sung  a  little  before.  And  one  might  address  him 
with  the  prayer :  "  If  these  animals  be  dearer  to  God  than  men, 
may  you  be  beloved  of  God  along  with  them,  and  be  made 

^  iTrtariUucict;.  -  roo77«c.  ^  Cf.  Ex.  xxiv.  2. 


264  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

like  to  those  whom  you  consider  as  dearer  to  Him  than  human 
beings ! "  And  let  no  one  suppose  that  such  a  prayer  is  meant 
as  an  imprecation ;  for  who  would  not  pray  to  resemble  in  all 
respects  those  whom  he  believes  to  be  dearer  to  God  than 
others,  in  order  that  he,  like  them,  may  enjoy  the  divine  love? 
And  as  Celsus  is  desirous  to  show  that  the  assemblies  of  the 
irrational  animals  are  more  sacred  than  ours,  he  ascribes  the 
statement  to  that  effect  not  to  any  ordinary  individuals,  but 
to  persons  of  intelligence.  Yet  it  is  the  virtuous  alone  who 
are  truly  wise,  for  no  wicked  man  is  so.  He  speaks,  accord- 
ingly, in  the  following  style :  "  Intelligent  men  say  that  these 
animals  hold  assemblies  which  are  more  sacred  than  ours,  and 
that  they  know  what  is  spoken  at  them,  and  actually  prove  that 
they  are  not  without  such  knowledge,  when  they  mention 
beforehand  that  the  birds  have  announced  their  intention  of 
departing  to  a  particular  place,  or  of  doing  this  thing  or  that, 
and  then  show  tliat  they  have  departed  to  the  place  in  question, 
and  have  done  the  particular  thing  which  was  foretold."  Now, 
truly,  no  person  of  intelligence  ever  related  such  things ;  nor 
did  any  wise  man  ever  say  that  the  assemblies  of  the  irrational 
animals  were  more  sacred  than  those  of  men.  But  if,  for  the 
purpose  of  examining  [the  soundness  of]  his  statements,  we 
look  to  their  consequences,  it  is  evident  that,  in  his  opinion, 
the  assemblies  of  the  irrational  animals  are  more  sacred  than 
those  of  the  venerable  Pherecydes,  and  Pythagoras,  and 
Socrates,  and  Plato,  and  of  philosophers  in  general ;  which 
assertion  is  not  only  incongruous^  in  itself,  but  full  of  absurdity. 
In  order  that  we  may  believe,  however,  that  certain  individuals 
do  learn  from  the  indistinct  sound  of  birds  that  they  are 
about  to  take  their  departure,  and  do  this  thing  or  that,  and 
announce  these  things  beforehand,  we  would  say  that  this 
information  is  imparted  to  men  by  demons  by  means  of  signs, 
with  the  view  of  having  men  deceived  by  demons,  and  having 
their  understanding  dragged  down  from  God  and  heaven  to 
earth,  and  to  places  lower  still. 

Chapter  xcviii. 

I  do  not  know,  moreover,  how  Celsus  could  hear  of  the  ele- 

^  d'iriu,0x7voii. 


Book  iv.]  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  265 

phants'  [fidelity  to]  oaths,  and  of  their  great  devotedness  to- 
our  God,  and  of  the  knowledge  wliich  they  possess  of  Him. 
For  I  know  many  wonderful  things  which  are  related  of 
the  nature  of  this  animal,  and  of  its  gentle  disposition.  But  I 
am  not  aware  that  any  one  has  spoken  of  its  observance  of 
oaths  ;  unless  indeed  to  its  gentle  disposition,  and  its  observance 
of  compacts,  so  to  speak,  when  once  concluded  between  it  and 
man,  he  give  the  name  of  keeping  its  oath,  which  statement 
also  in  itself  is  false.  For  although  rarely,  yet  sometimes  it 
has  been  recorded  that,  after  their  apparent  tameness,  they  have 
broken  out  against  men  in  the  most  savao-e  manner,  and  have 
committed  murder,  and  have  been  on  that  account  condemned 
to  death,  because  no  longer  of  any  use.  And  seeing  that  after 
this,  in  order  to  establish  (as  he  thinks  he  does)  that  the  stork 
is  more  pious  than  any  human  being,  he  adduces  the  accounts 
which  are  narrated  regarding  that  creature's  display  of  filial 
affection^  in  bringing  food  to  its  parents  for  their  support,  we 
have  to  say  in  reply,  that  this  is  done  by  the  storks,  not  from  a 
regard  to  what  is  proper,  nor  from  reflection,  but  from  a  natural 
instinct ;  the  nature  which  formed  them  being  desirous  to  show 
an  instance  among  the  irrational  animals  which  might  put  men 
to  shame,  in  the  matter  of  exhibiting  their  gratitude  to  their 
parents.  And  if  Celsus  had  known  how  great  the  difference  is 
between  acting  in  this  way  from  reason,  and  from  an  irrational 
natural  impulse,  he  would  not  have  said  that  storks  are  more 
pious  than  human  beings.  But  further,  Celsus,  as  still  con- 
tending for  the  piety  of  the  irrational  creation,  quotes  the 
instance  of  the  Arabian  bird  the  phoenix,  which  after  many 
years  repairs  to  Egypt,  and  bears  thither  its  parent,  when  dead 
and  buried  in  a  ball  of  myrrh,  and  deposits  its  body  in  the 
Temple  of  the  Sun.  Now  this  story  is  indeed  recorded,  and,  if 
it  be  true,  it  is  possible  that  it  may  occur  in  consequence  of 
some  provision  of  nature ;  divine  providence  freely  displaying 
to  human  beings,  by  the  differences  which  exist  among  living 
things,  the  variety  of  constitution  which  prevails  in  the  world, 
and  which  extends  even  to  birds,  and  in  harmony  with  which 
He  has  brought  into  existence  one  creature,  the  only  one  of  its 


26G  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  iv. 

•kind,  in  order  that  by  it  men  may  be  led  to  admire,  not  the 
creature,  but  Him  who  created  it. 

Chapter  xcix. 

In  addition  to  all  that  he  has  already  said,  Celsns  subjoins 
the  folloAving:  "All  things,  accordingly,  were  not  made  for 
man,  any  more  than  they  were  made  for  lions,  or  eagles,  or 
dolphins,  but  that  this  world,  as  being  God's  work,  might  be  per- 
fect and  entire  in  all  respects.  For  this  reason  all  things  have 
been  adjusted,  not  with  reference  to  each  other,  but  with  regard 
to  their  bearing  upon  the  whole.^  And  God  takes  care  of  the 
whole,  and  [His]  providence  will  never  forsake  it ;  and  it  does 
not  become  worse ;  nor  does  God  after  a  time  bring  it  back  to 
himself ;  nor  is  He  angry  on  account  of  men  any  more  than  on 
account  of  apes  or  flies ;  nor  does  He  threaten  these  beings,  each 
one  of  which  has  received  its  appointed  lot  in  its  proper  place." 
Let  us  then  briefly  reply  to  these  statements.  I  think,  indeed, 
that  I  have  shown  in  the  preceding  pages  that  all  things  were 
created  for  man,  and  every  rational  being,  and  that  it  was 
chiefly  for  the  sake  of  the  rational  creature  that  the  creation 
took  place.  Celsus,  indeed,  may  say  that  this  was  done  not 
more  for  man  than  for  lions,  or  the  other  creatures  which  he 
mentions ;  but  we  maintain  that  the  Creator  did  not  form  these 
things  for  lions,  or  eagles,  or  dolphins,  but  all  for  the  sake  of 
the  rational  creature,  and  "  in  order  that  this  world,  as  being 
God's  work,  might  be  perfect  and  complete  in  all  things."  For 
to  this  sentiment  we  must  yield  our  assent  as  being  well  said. 
And  God  takes  care,  not,  as  Celsus  supposes,  merely  of  the 
wIloUj  but  beyond  the  whole,  in  a  special  degree  of  every 
rational  being.  Nor  will  Providence  ever  abandon  the  whole  ; 
for  although  it  should  become  more  wicked,  owing  to  the  sin 
of  the  rational  being,  which  is  a  portion  of  the  whole.  He  makes 
arrangements  to  purify  it,  and  after  a  time  to  bring  back  the 
whole  to  Himself.  Moreover,  He  is  not  angry  with  apes  or 
flies ;  but  on  human  beings,  as  those  who  have  transgressed  the 
laws  of  nature.  He  sends  judgments  and  chastisements,  and 
threatens  them    by  the   mouth  of    the  prophets,  and  by  the 

^  «xx'  il  (.'.■>!  '77u,v  'ipyov.  "  Gelenius  does  not  recognise  these  words,  and 
Guietus  regards  them  as  superfluous."    Thej  are  oiuitted  in  the  translation. 


Book  iv.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  267 

Saviour  avIio  came  to  visit  the  wliole  liuman  race,  that  those 
who  hear  the  threatenings  may  be  converted  by  them,  while 
those  who  neglect  these  calls  to  conversion  may  deservedly 
suffer  those  punishments  which  it  becomes  God,  in  conformity 
I  with  that  will  of  His  which  acts  for  the  advantage  of  the 
whole,  to  inflict  upon  those  who  need  such  painful  discipline 
and  correction.  But  as  our  fourth  book  has  now  attained  suffi- 
cient dimensions,  we  shall  here  terminate  our  discourse.  And 
may  God  grant,  through  His  Son,  who  is  God  the  AVord,  and 
Wisdom,  and  Truth,  and  Righteousness,  and  everything  else 
which  the  sacred  Scriptures  when  speaking  of  God  call  Him, 
that  we  may  make  a  good  beginning  of  the  fifth  book,  to  the 
benefit  of  our  readers,  and  may  bring  it  to  a  successful  conclu- 
sion, with  tlie  aid  -of  His  word  abiding  in  our  soul. 


BOOK   Y. 

Chapter  i. 

[|T  is  not,  my  reverend  Ambrosius,  because  we  seek 
after  many  words — a  thing  which  is  forbidden,  and 
in  the  indulgence  of  which  it  is  impossible  to  avoid 
sin^ — that  we  now  begin  the  fifth  book  of  our  reply 
to  the  treatise  of  Celsus,  but  with  the  endeavour,  so  far  as  may 
be  within  our  power,  to  leave  none  of  his  statements  without 
examination,  and  especially  those  in  which  it  might  appear  to 
some  that  he  had  skilfully  assailed  us  and  the  Jews.  If  it  were 
possible,  indeed,  for  me  to  enter  along  with  my  words  into  the 
conscience  of  every  one  without  exception  who  peruses  this 
work,  and  to  extract  each  dart  which  wounds  him  who  is  not 
completely  protected  with  the  ''whole  armour"  of  God,  and 
apply  a  rational  medicine  to  cure  the  wound  injflicted  by  Celsus, 
which  prevents  those  who  listen  to  his  words  from  remaining 
"  sound  in  the  faith,"  I  Avould  do  so.  But  since  it  is  the  work 
of  God  alone,  in  conformity  with  His  own  Spirit,  and  along 
I  with  that  of  Christ,  to  take  up  His  abode  invisibly  in  those 
persons  whom  He  judges  worthy  of  being  visited ;  so,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  onr  object  to  try,  by  means  of  arguments  and 
treatises,  to  confirm  men  in  their  faith,  and  to  earn  the  name 
of  "  workmen  needing  not  to  be  ashamed,  i'ightly  dividing 
the  word  of  truth." ^  And  there  is  one  thing  above  all  which 
it  appears  to  us  we  ought  to  do,  if  we  would  discharge  faith- 
f idly  the  task  enjoined  upon  us  by  you,  and  that  is  to  overturn 
to  the  best  of  our  ability  the  confident  assertions  of  Celsus. 
Let  us  then  quote  such  assertions  of  his  as  follow  those  which 
I  we  have  already  refuted  (the  reader  must  decide  whether  we 
have  done  so  successfully  or  not),  and  let  us  reply  to  them. 
1  Cf.  Prov.  X.  19.  2  cf,  2  Tim.  ii.  15. 

268 


Book  v.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSVS.  269 

And  may  God  grant  that  we  approach  not  our  subject  with 
our  understanding  and  reason  empty  and  devoid  of  divine  in- 
spiration, that  the  faith  of  those  whom  we  wish  to  aid  may  not 
depend  upon  human  wisdom,  but  that,  receiving  the  "  mind" 
of  Christ  from  His  Father,  wlio  alone  can  bestow  it,  and  being 
strengthened  by  participating  in  the  word  of  God,  we  may  pull 
down  "  every  high  thing  that  exalteth  itself  against  the  know- 
ledge of  God,"^  and  the  imagination  of  Celsus,  who  exalts  him- 
self against  us,  and  against  Jesus,  and  also  against  Moses  and 
the  prophets,  in  order  that  He  who  "gave  the  word  to  those 
who  published  it  with  great  power  "^  may  supply  us  also,  and 
bestow  upon  us  "great  power,"  so  that  faith  in  the  word  and 
power  of  God  may  be  implanted  in  the  minds  of  all  who  will 
peruse  our  work. 

Chapter  ii. 

We  have  now,  then,  to  refute  that  statement  of  his  which 
runs  as  follows  :  "  O  Jews  and  Christians,  no  God  or  son  of 
a  God  either  came  or  will  come  down  [to  earth].  "But  if  you 
mean  that  certain  angels  did  so,  then  what  do  you  call  them  ? 
Are  they  gods,  or  some  other  race  of  beings?  Some  other  race 
of  beings  [doubtless],  and  in  all  probability  demons."  ]!l»[ow 
as  Celsus  here  is  guilty  of  repeating  himself  (for  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages  such  assertions  have  been  frequently  advanced 
by  him),  it  is  unnecessary  to  discuss  the  matter  at  greater 
length,  seeing  what  we  have  already  said  upon  this  point  may 
suffice.  We  shall  mention,  however,  a  few  considerations  out 
of  a  greater  number,  sucli  as  we  deem  in  harmony  with  our 
former  arguments,  but  which  have  not  altogether  the  same 
bearing  as  they,  and  by  which  we  shall  show  that  in  assert- 
ing generally  that  no  God,  or  son  of  God,  ever  descended 
[among  men],  he  overturns  not  only  the  opinions  entertained 
by  the  majority  of  mankind  regarding  the  manifestation  of 
Deity,  but  also  what  was  formerly  admitted  by  himself.  For 
if  the  general  statement,  that  "no  God  or  son  of  God  has 
come  down  or  will  come  down,"  be  truly  maintained  by  Celsus, 
it  is  manifest  that  we  have  here  overthrown  the  belief  in  the 
existence  of  gods  upon  the  earth  who  had  descended  from 
1  Cf.  2  Cor.  X.  5.  2  cf^  Ps.  ixviii,  n^ 


270  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Bock  v. 

heaven  either  to  predict  the  future  to  mankind  or  to  heal  them 
by  means  of  divine  responses  ;  and  neither  the  Pythian  Apollo, 
nor  Esculapius,  nor  any  other  among  those  supposed  to  have 
done  so,  would  be  a  god  descended  from  heaven.  He  might, 
indeed,  either  be  a  god  who  had  obtained  as  his  lot  [the  obliga- 
tion] to  dwell  on  earth  for  ever,  and  be  thus  a  fugitive,  as  it 
were,  from  the  abode  of  the  gods,  or  he  might  be  one  who  had 
no  power  to  share  in  the  society  of  the  gods  in  heaven  ;-^  or  else 
Apollo,  and  Esculapius,  and  those  others  who  are  believed  to 
perform  acts  on  earth,  would  not  be  gods,  but  only  certain 
demons,  much  inferior  to  those  wise  men  among  mankind,  who 
on  account  of  their  virtue  ascend  to  the  vault'  of  heaven. 

Chapter  hi. 

But  observe  how,  in  his  desire  to  subvert  our  opinions,  he 
who  never  acknowledged  himself  throughout  his  whole  treatise 
to  be  an  Epicurean,  is  convicted  of  being  a  deserter  to  that 
sect.  And  now  is  the  time  for  you,  [reader],  who  peruse  the 
works  of  Celsus,  and-  give  your  assent  to  what  has  been  ad- 
vanced, either  to  overturn  the  belief  in  a  God  who  visits  the 
human  race,  and  exercises  a  providence  over  each  individual 
man,  or  to  grant  this,  and  prove  the  falsity  of  the  assertions  of 
Celsus.  If  you,  then,  wholly  annihilate  providence,  you  will 
falsify  those  assertions  of  his  in  which  he  grants  the  existence 
of  "  God  and  a  providence,"  in  order  that  you  may  maintain 
the  truth  of  your  own  position ;  but  if,  on  the  other  hand,  you 
still  admit  the  existence  of  providence,  because  you  do  not 
assent  to  the  dictum  of  Celsus,  that  "neither  has  a  God  nor 
the  son  of  a  God  come  down  nor  is  to  come  down  ^  to  man- 
kind," why  not  rather  carefully  ascertain  from  the  statements 
made  regarding  Jesus,  and  the  prophecies  uttered  concerning 
Him,  who  it  is  that  we  are  to  consider  as  having  come  down  to 
the  human  race  as  God,  and  the  Son  of  God? — whether  that 
Jesus  who  said  and  ministered  so  much,  or  those  who,  under 
pretence  of  oracles  and  divinations,  do  not  reform  the  morals 
of  their  worshippers,  but  who  have  besides  apostatized  from  the 
pure  and  holy  worship  and  honour  due  to  the  Maker  of  all 
things,  and  who  tear  away  the  souls  of  those  who  give  heed  to 


Book  v.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  271 

tliem  from  the  one  only  visible  and  true  God,  under  a  pretence 
of  paying  honour  to  a  multitude  of  deities  ? 

Chapter  iv. 

But  since  he  says,  in  the  next  place,  as  if  the  Jews  or 
Christians  had  answered  regarding  those  who  come  down  to 
visit  the  human  race,  that  they  were  angels :  "  But  if  ye  say 
that  they  are  angels,  what  do  you  call  them?"  he  continues, 
'•  Are  they  gods,  or  some  other  race  of  beings  ? "  and  then 
again  introduces  us  as  if  answering,  "  Some  other  race  of 
beings,  and  probably  demons," — let  us  proceed  to  notice  these 
remarks.  For  we  indeed  acknowledge  that  angels  are  "  mini- 
stering spirits,"  and  we  say  that  "  they  are  sent  forth  to  minister 
for  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation  ;"^  and  that  they  ascend, 
bearing  the  supplications  of  men,  to  the  purest  of  the  heavenly 
places  in  the  universe,  or  even  to  supercelestial  regions  purer 
still ;  ^  and  that  they  come  down  from  these,  conveying  to  each 
one,  according  to  his  deserts,  something  enjoined  by  God  to 
be  conferred  by  them  upon  those  who  are  to  be  the  recipients 
of  Plis  benefits.  Having  thus  learned  to  call  these  beings 
"angels"  from  their  employments,  we  find  that  because  they 
are  divine  they  are  sometimes  termed  "God"  in  the  sacred 
Scriptures,^  but  not  so  that  we  are  commanded  to  honour  and 
worship  in  place  of  God  those  who  minister  to  us,  and  bear  to 
us  His  blessings.  For  every  prayer,  and  supplication,  and  inter- 
cession, and  thanksgiving,  is  to  be  sent  up  to  the  Supreme  God 
through  the  High  Priest,  who  is  above  all  the  angels,  the  living 
AYord  and  God.  And  to  the  Word  Himself  shall  Ave  also  pray 
1  and  make  intercessions,  and  offer  thanksgivings  and  supplica- 
tions to  Him,  if  we  have  the  capacity  of  distinguishing  between 
the  proper  use  and  abuse  of  prayer.^ 

Chapter  v. 

For  to  invoke  angels  without  having  obtained  a  knowledge 

1  Cf.  Heb.  i.  14. 

2  hj  Toi;  KxdcipuTccroif   tow  x-oay^ov  '/,apioi;  STrovpxuloi;,    '/>  y.a,i  ro7j  rwruv 
xaSctpuripoi;  t/vipovptuvi'otg. 

3  Cf.  Ps.  Ixxxvi.  S,  xcvi.  4,  cxxsvi.  2. 

*  kxu  ovjufii&u,  x.UTa,x.ovifj  T^j  "T^ipl  Tvposivy^vig  Kvpto'h.i^ioi.g  y.ctl  KX7(X,'/,prt<Jius. 


272  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

of  their  nature  greater  than  is  possessed  by  men,  would  be 
contrary  to  reason.  But,  conformably  to  our  hypothesis,  let 
this  knowledge  of  them,  which  is  something  wonderful  and 
mysterious,  be  obtained.  Then  this  knowledge,  making  known 
to  us  their  nature,  and  the  offices  to  which  they  are  severally 
appointed,  will  not  permit  us  to  pray  witli  confidence  to  any 
other  than  to  the  Supreme  God,  who  is  sufficient  for  all  things, 
and  that  through  our  Saviour  the  Son  of  God,  who  is  the 
Word,  and  Wisdom,  and  Truth,  and  everything  else  which  the 
writings  of  God's  prophets  and  the  apostles  of  Jesus  entitle 
Him.  And  it  is  enough  to  secure  that  the  holy  angels  of  God 
be  propitious  to  us,  and  that  they  do  all  things  on  our  behalf, 
that  our  disposition  of  mind  towards  God  should  imitate  as  far 
as  it  is  within  the  power  of  human  nature  the  example  of  these 
holy  angels,  who  again  follow  the  example  of  their  God ;  and 
that  the  conceptions  which  we  entertain  of  His  Son,  the  Word, 
so  far  as  attainable  by  us,  should  not  be  opposed  to  the  clearer 
conceptions  of  Him  which  the  holy  angels  possess,  but  should 
daily  approach  these  in  clearness  and  distinctness.  But  because 
Celsus  has  not  read  our  Holy  Scriptures,  he  gives  himself  an 
answer  as  if  it  came  from  us,  saying  that  Ave  "  assert  that  the 
angels  who  come  down  from  heaven  to  confer  benefits  on  man- 
kind are  a  different  race  from  the  gods,"  and  adds  that  "  in  all 
probability  they  would  be  called  demons  by  us :"  not  observing 
that  the  name  *' demons"  is  not  a  term  of  indifferent  meaning 
like  that  of  "  men,"  among  whom  some  are  good  and  some  bad, 
nor  yet  a  term  of  excellence  like  that  of  "  the  gods,"  which  is 
applied  not  to  wicked  demons,  or  to  statues,  or  to  animals,  but 
1  (by  those  who  know  divine  things)  to  what  is  truly  divine  and 
blessed ;  whereas  the  term  "  demons "  is  always  applied  to 
those  wicked  powers,  freed  from  the  encumbrance  of  a  grosser 
body,  who  lead  men  astray,  and  fill  them  with  distractions, 
and  drag  them  down  from  God  and  supercelestial  thoughts  to 
things  here  below. 

Chapter  vi. 

He  next  proceeds  to  make  the  following  statement  about  the 
Jews: — "The  first  point  relating  to  the  Jews  which  is  fitted 
to  excite  wonder,  is  that  they  should  worship  the  heaven  and 


■ 


Book  v.]  OrdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  273 

the  angels  who  dwell  therein,  and  yet  pass  by  and  neglect  its 
most  venerable  and  powerful  parts,  as  the  sun,  and  moon,  and 
the  other  heavenly  bodies,  both  fixed  stars  and  planets,  as  if  it 
■were  possible  that  '  the  whole '  could  be  God,  and  yet  its 
parts  not  divine ;  or  [as  if  it  were  reasonable]  to  treat  with  the 
greatest  respect  those  who  are  said  to  appear  to  such  as  are 
in  darkness  somewhere,  blinded  by  some  crooked  sorcery,  or 
dreaming  dreams  through  the  influence  of  shadowy  spectres,^ 
while  those  who  prophesy  so  clearly  and  strikingly  to  all  men, 
by  means  of  whom  rain,  and  heat,  and  clouds,  and  thunder 
(to  which  they  offer  worship),  and  lightnings,  and  fruits, 
and  all  kinds  of  productiveness,  are  brought  about, — by  means 
of  whom  God  is  revealed  to  them,  —  the  most  prominent 
heralds  among  those  beings  that  are  above, — those  that  are 
truly  heavenly  angels, — are  to  be  regarded  as  of  no  account !" 
In  making  these  statements,  Celsus  appears  to  have  fallen  into 
confusion,  and  to  have  penned  them  from  false  ideas  of  things 
which  he  did  not  understand ;  for  it  is  patent  to  all  who  inves- 
tigate the  practices  of  the  Jews,  and  compare  them  with  those 
of  the  Christians,  that  the  Jews  who  follow  the  law,  which, 
speaking  in  the  person  of  God,  says,  "  Thou  shalt  have  no 
other  gods  before  me :  thou  shalt  not  make  unto  thee  an 
image,  nor  a  likeness  of  anything  that  is  in  heaven  above,  or 
that  is  in  the  earth  beneath,  or  that  is  in  the  waters  under  the 
earth ;  thou  shalt  not  bow  down  to  them,  nor  serve  them," " 
worship  nothing  else  than  the  Supreme  God,  who  made  the 
heavens,  and  all  things  besides.  Now  it  is  evident  that  those 
who  live  according  to  the  law,  and  worship  the  Maher  of 
heaven,  will  not  worship  the  heaven  at  the  same  time  with 
God.  Moreover,  no  one  who  obeys  the  law  of  Moses  will  bow 
down  to  the  angels  who  are  in  heaven ;  and,  in  like  manner, 
as  they  do  not  bow  down  to  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  the  host  of 
heaven,  they  refrain  also  from  doing  obeisance  to  heaven  and 
its  angels,  obeying  the  law  which  declares  :  "  Lest  thou  lift  up 
thine  eyes  to  heaven,  and  when  thou  seest  the  sun,  and  the 
moon,  and  the  stars,  even  all  the  host  of  heaven,  shouldst  be 

'/J  zoi/g  fciv  iu  aicoru  tov  Ik.  yoriTilug  oiiK  cpdij;  rv^'hurrovijiv,  >}  S<'  cifx.v'hpait 
(PccafixTuu  oviipurrovaiv  lyxP'/^'^'^-"'  '^■iyo/^ivovs,  iv  fcxT^x  dp/iSKiViiv. 
-  Cf.  Ex.  XX.  3,  4,  5. 
ORIG. — VOL.  II.  S 


274  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

driven  to  worship  them,  and  serve  them,  which  the  Lord  thy 
God  hath  divided  unto  all  nations."  ^ 

Chapter  vii. 

Having,  moreover,  assumed  that  the  Jews  consider  the 
heaven  to  be  God,  he  adds  that  this  is  absurd;  finding  fault 
with  those  who  bow  down  to  the  heaven,  but  not  also  to  the 
sun,  and  moon,  and  stars,  saying  that  the  Jews  do  this,  as  if  it 
were  possible  that  "the  whole"  should  be  God,  and  its  several 
parts  not  divine.  And  he  seems  to  call  the  heaven  "  a  whole," 
and  sun,  moon,  and  stars  its  several  parts.  Now,  certainly 
neither  Jews  nor  Christians  call  the  "  heaven  "  God.  Let  it 
be  granted,  however,  that,  as  he  alleges,  the  heaven  is  called 
God  by  the  Jews,  and  suppose  that  sun,  moon,  and  stars  are 
parts  of  "  heaven," — which  is  by  no  means  true,  for  neither  are 
the  animals  and  plants  upon  the  earth  any  portion  of  it, — how 
is  it  true,  even  according  to  the  opinions  of  the  Greeks,  that  if 
God  be  a  whole,  His  parts  also  are  divine  ?  Certainly  they  say 
that  the  Cosmos  taken  as  the  whole^  is  God,  the  Stoics  calling 
it  the  First  God,  the  followers  of  Plato  the  Second,  and  some  of 
them  the  Third.  According  to  these  philosophers,  then,  seeing 
the  whole  Cosmos  is  God,  its  parts  also  are  divine  ;  so  that  not 
only  are  human  beings  divine,  but  the  whole  of  the  irrational 
creation,  as  being  ^'portions"  of  the  Cosmos ;  and  besides  these, 
the  plants  also  are  divine.  And  if  the  rivers,  and  mountains, 
and  seas  are  portions  of  the  Cosmos,  then,  since  the  whole 
Cosmos  is  God,  are  the  rivers  and  seas  also  gods  ?  But  this 
even  the  Greeks  will  not  assert.  Those,  however,  who  preside 
over  rivers  and  seas  (either  demons  or  gods,  as  they  call  them), 
they  would  term  gods.  Now  from  this  it  follows  that  the 
general  statement  of  Celsus,  even  according  to  the  Greeks, 
who  hold  the  doctrine  of  Providence,  is  false,  that  if  any 
"whole"  be  a  god,  its  parts  necessarily  are  divine.  But  it 
follows  from  the  doctrine  of  Celsus,  that  if  the  Cosmos  be  God, 
all  that  is  in  it  is  divine,  being  parts  of  the  Cosmos.  Now, 
according  to  this  view,  animals,  as  flies,  and  gnats,  and  worms, 
and  every  species  of  serpent,  as  well  as  of  birds  and  fishes,  will 
he  divine, — an  assertion  which  would  not  be  made  even  by  those 
^  Cf.  Deut.  iv.  19.  ^  ro  o'hov  6  mo^o;. 


Book  v.]  OltlGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  275 

who  maintain  that  the  Cosmos  is  God.  But  the  Jews,  who 
live  according  to  the  law  of  Moses,  although  they  may  not 
know  how  to  receive  the  secret  meaning  of  the  law,  which  is 
conveyed  in  obscure  language,  will  not  maintain  that  either  the 
heaven  or  the  angels  are  God. 

Chapter  viii. 

As  we  allege,  however,  that  he  has  fallen  into  confusion  in 
consequence  of  false  notions  which  he  has  imbibed,  come  and 
let  us  point  them  out  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  and  show  that 
although  Celsus  considers  it  to  be  a  Jewish  custom  to  bow 
down  to  the  heaven  and  the  angels  in  it,  such  a  practice  is  not 
at  all  Jewish,  but  is  in  violation  of  Judaism,  as  it  also  is  to  do 
obeisance  to  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  as  well  as  images.  You  will 
find  at  least  in  the  book  of  Jeremiah  the  words  of  God  cen- 
suring by  the  mouth  of  the  prophet  the  Jewish  people  for 
doing  obeisance  to  such  objects,  and  for  sacrificing  to  the  queen 
of  heaven,  and  to  all  the  host  of  heaven.^  The  writings  of  the 
Christians,  moreover,  show,  in  censuring  the  sins  committed 
among  the  Jews,  that  when  God  abandoned  that  people  on 
account  of  certain  sins,  these  sins  [of  idol-worship]  also  were 
committed  by  them.  For  it  is  related  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  regarding  the  Jews,  that  "  God  turned,  and  gave 
them  up  to  worship  the  host  of  heaven ;  as  it  is  written  in  the 
book  of  the  prophets,  O  ye  house  of  Israel,  have  ye  oifered  to 
me  slain  beasts  and  sacrifices  by  the  space  of  forty  years  in  the 
wilderness  ?  Yea,  ye  took  up  the  tabernacle  of  Moloch,  and 
the  star  of  your  god  Remphan,  figures  which  you  made  to 
worship  them."^  And  in  the  writings  of  Paul,  who  was  care- 
fully trained  in  Jewish  customs,  and  converted  afterwards  to 
Christianity  by  a  miraculous  appearance  of  Jesus,  the  following 
words  may  be  read  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians  :  "  Let  no 
man  beguile  you  of  your  reward  in  a  voluntary  humility  and 
worshipping  of  angels,  intruding  into  those  things  which  he 
hath  not  seen,  vainly  puffed  up  by  his  fleshly  mind ;  and  not 
holding  the  head,  from  which  all  the  body  by  joint  and  bands 
having  nourishment  ministered,  and  knit  together,  increaseth 
with  the  increase  of  God."  ^     But  Celsus,  having  neither  read 

1  Cf.  Jer.  vii.  17,  18.        2  cf.  Acts  vii.  42,  43.        ^  Cf.  Col.  ii.  18,  19. 


276  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

these  verses,  nor  having  learned  their  contents  from  any  other 
source,  has  represented,  I  know  not  how,  the  Jews  as  not  trans- 
gressing their  law  in  bowing  down  to  the  heavens,  and  to  the 
angels  therein. 

Chapter  ix. 

And  still  continuing  a  little  confused,  and  not  taking  care  to 
see  what  was  relevant  to  the  matter,  he  expressed  his  opinion 
that  the  Jews  were  induced  by  the  incantations  employed  in 
jugglery  and  sorcery  (in  consequence  of  which  certain  phan- 
toms appear,  in  obedience  to  the  spells  employed  by  the  magi- 
cians) to  bow  down  to  the  angels  in  heaven,  not  observing  that 
this  was  contrary  to  their  law,  which  said  to  them  who  practised 
such  observances  :  "  Regard  not  them  which  have  familiar 
spirits,^  neither  seek  after  wizards,^  to  be  defiled  by  them:  I  am 
the  Lord  your  God."^  He  ought,  therefore,  either  not  to 
have  at  all  attributed  this  practice  to  the  Jews,  seeing  he  has 
observed  that  they  keep  their  law,  and  has  called  them  "  those 
who  live  according  to  their  law;"  or  if  he  did  attribute  it,  he 
ought  to  have  shown  that  the  Jews  did  this  in  violation  of 
their  code.  But  again,  as  they  transgress  their  law  who  offer 
worship  to  those  who  are  said  to  appear  to  them  who  are  in- 
volved in  darkness  and  blinded  by  sorcery,  and  who  dream 
dreams,  owing  to  obscure  phantoms  presenting  themselves  ;  so 
also  do  they  transgress  the  law  who  offer  sacrifice  to  sun,  moon, 
and  stars.*  And  there  is  thus  great  inconsistency  in  the  same 
individual  saying  that  the  Jews  are  careful  to  keep  their  law 
by  not  bowing  down  to  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars,  while  they 
are  not  so  careful  to  keep  it  in  the  matter  of  heaven  and  the 
angels. 

Chapter  x. 

And  if  it  be  necessary  for  us  to  offer  a  defence  of  our  refusal 
to  recognise  as  gods,  equally  with  angels,  and  sun,  and  moon, 
and  stars,  those  who  are  called  by  the  Greeks  "  manifest  and 
visible"  divinities,  we  shall  answer  that  the  law  of  Moses  knows 

^  iyyx<;rpiiA.v6oii.  ^  ivoioi^oi;.  ^  Cf.  Lev.  xix.  31. 

■*  The  emendations  of  Ruseus  have  been  adopted  in  the  translation,  the 
text  being  probably  corrupt.     Cf.  Riiscus,  in  loc. 


Book  v.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  211 

that  these  latter  have  been  apportlonecl  by  God  among  all  the 
nations  under  the  heaven,  but  not  amongst  those  who  were 
selected  by  God  as  His  chosen  people  above  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth.  For  it  is  written  in  the  book  of  Deuteronomy  : 
^*  And  lest  thou  lift  up  thine  eyes  unto  heaven,  and  when  thou 
seest  the  sun,  and  the  moon,  and  the  stars,  even  all  the  host  of 
heaven,  shouldst  be  driven  to  worship  them,  and  serve  them, 
which  the  Lord  thy  God  hath  divided  unto  all  nations  under 
the  whole  heaven.  But  the  Lord  hath  taken  us,  and  brought 
us  forth  out  of  the  iron  furnace,  even  out  of  Egypt,  to  be  unto 
Him  a  people  of  inheritance,  as  ye  are  this  day."^  The  Hebrew 
people,  then,  being  called  by  God  a  "chosen  generation,  and  a 
royal  priesthood,  and  a  holy  nation,  and  a  purchased  people,"" 
regarding  whom  it  was  foretold  to  Abraham  by  the  voice  of 
the  Lord  addressed  to  him,  "  Look  now  towards  heaven,  and 
tell  the  stars,  if  thou  be  able  to  number  them  :  and  Pie  said 
unto  him,  So  shall  thy  seed  be;"^  and  having  thus  a  hope 
that  they  would  become  as  the  stars  of  heaven,  were  not  likely 
to  bow  down  to  those  objects  which  they  were  to  resemble  as  a 
result  of  their  understanding  and  observing  the  law  of  God. 
For  it  was  said  to  them  :  '•  The  Lord  our  God  hath  multiplied 
us  ;  and,  behold,  ye  are  this  day  as  the  stars  of  heaven  for 
multitude.'"*  In  the  book  of  Daniel,  also,  the  following 
prophecies  are  found  relating  to  those  who  are  to  share  in  the 
resurrection  :  "And  at  that  time  thy  people  shall  be  delivered, 
every  one  that  has  been  written  in  the  book.  And  many  of 
them  that  sleep  in  the  dust^  of  the  earth  shall  awake  ;  some  to 
everlasting  life,  and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt. 
And  they  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firma- 
ment, and  [those]  of  the  many  righteous^  as  the  stars  for  ever 
and  ever,"^  etc.  And  hence  Paul,  too,  when  speaking  of  the 
resurrection,  says:  "And  there  are  also  celestial  bodies,  and 
bodies  terrestrial :  but  the  glory  of  the  celestial  is  one,  and  the 
glory  of  the  terrestrial  is  another.  Tliere  is  one  glory  of  the 
sun,  and  another  glory  of  the  moon,  and  another  glory  of  the 
stars ;  for  one  star  differetli  from  another  star  in  glory.     So 

1  Cf.  Deut.  iv.  19,  20.  2  cf.  1  Pet.  ii.  9.       ^  cf.  Gen.  sv.  5. 

4  Cf.  Deut.  i.  10.  5  yj,u.cirt. 

*  dTTo  ru'j  oiKui'cju  Tuu  -TTo'K'hZiv.  ''  Cf.  Dan.  xii.  1,  2,  3. 


278  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

also  is  the  resurrection  of  the  dead."^  It  was  not  therefore 
consonant  to  reason  that  those  v;\\o  had  been  taught  subHmely^ 
to  ascend  above  all  created  things,  and  to  hope  for  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  most  glorious  rewards  with  God  on  account  of  their 
virtuous  lives,  and  who  had  heard  the  words,  '•'  Ye  are  the  light 
of  the  world,"  ^  and,  "  Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men,  that 
they,  seeing  your  good  works,  may  glorify  your  Father  who  is 
in  heaven,"  and  who  possessed  through  practice  this  brilliant 
and  unfading  wisdom,  or  who  had  secured  even  the  "  very 
reflection  of  everlasting  light,"  ^  should  be  so  impressed  with  the 
[mere]  visible  light  of  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars,  that,  on  account 
of  that  sensible  light  of  theirs,  they  should  deem  themselves 
(although  possessed  of  so  great  a  rational  light  of  knowledge, 
and  of  the  true  light,  and  the  light  of  the  world,  and  the  light 
of  men)  to  be  somehow  inferior  to  them,  and  to  bow  down  to 
them;  seeing  they  ought  to  be  worshipped,  if  they  are  to  receive 
worship  at  all,  not  for  the  sake  of  the  sensible  light  which  is 
admired  by  the  multitude,  but  because  of  the  rational  and  true 
light,  if  indeed  the  stars  in  heaven  are  rational  and  virtuous 
beings,  and  have  been  illuminated  with  the  light  of  knowledge 
by  that  wisdom  which  is  the  "reflection  of  everlasting  light." 
For  that  sensible  light  of  theirs  is  the  work  of  the  Creator  of 
all  tilings,  while  that  rational  light  is  derived  perhaps^ from  the 
principle  of  free-will  within  them.*' 

Chapter  xi. 

But  even  this  rational  light  itself  ought  not  to  be  worshipped 
by  him  who  beholds  and  understands  the  true  light,  by  sharing 
in  which  these  also  are  enlightened ;  nor  by  him  who  beholds 
God,  the  Father  of  the  true  light, — of  whom  it  has  been  said, 
"  God  is  light,  and  in  Him  there  is  no  darkness  at  all."^  Those, 
indeed,  who  worship  sun,  moon,  and  stars  because  their  light  is 
visible  and  celestial,  would  not  bow  down  to  a  spark  of  fire  or  a 
lamp  upon  earth,  because  they  see  the  incomparable  superiority 
of  those  objects  which  are  deemed  worthy  of  homage  to  the 

1  Cf.  1  Cor.  XV.  40-42.  2  ^sy^AoipyS?. 

3  Matt.  V.  14.  ■»  Cf.  Matt.  v.  16. 
''  Cf .  Origeu,  de  Principiis,  i.  c.  vii. 

®  ix.  Tou  iu  avrcili  av-i^ovalov  i'K/i^^vdoi.  '  Cf.  1  JoLu  i.  5. 


Book  v.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  279 

light  of  sparks  and  lamps.  So  those  who  understand  that  God 
is  light,  and  who  have  apprehended  that  the  Son  of  God  is 
"  the  true  light  which  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the 
world,"  and  who  comprehend  also  how  He  says,  "I  am  the  light 
of  the  world,"  would  not  rationally  offer  worship  to  that  which 
is,  as  it  were,  a  spark  in  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  in  comparison 
with  God,  who  is  light  of  the  true  light.  Nor  is  it  with  a  view 
to  depreciate  these  great  works  of  God's  creative  power,  or  to 
call  them,  after  the  fashion  of  Anaxagoras,  "fiery  masses,"^ 
that  we  thus  speak  of  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars ;  but  because 
we  perceive  the  inexpressible  superiority  of  the  divinity  of  God, 
and  that  of  His  only-begotten  Son,  which  surpasses  all  other 
things.  And  being  persuaded  that  the  sun  himself,  and  moon, 
and  stars  pray  to  the  Supreme  God  through  His  only-begotten 
Son,  we  judge  it  improper  to  pray  to  those  beings  who  them- 
selves offer  up  prayers  [to  God],  seeing  eveii  they  themselves 
would  prefer  that  we  should  send  up  our  requests  to  the  God 
to  whom  they  pray,  rather  than  send  them  downwards  to  them- 
selves, or  apportion  our  power  of  prayer^  between  God  and 
them.  And  here  I  may  employ  this  illustration,  as  bearing 
upon  this  point :  Our  Lord  and  Saviour,  hearing  Himself  on 
one  occasion  addressed  as  "  Good  Master,"^  referring  him  who 
used  it  to  His  own  Father,  said,  "  Why  callest  thou  me  good  ? 
There  is  none  good  but  one,  that  is,  God  the  Father."^  And 
since  it  was  in  accordance  with  sound  reason  that  this  should 
be  said  by  the  Son  of  His  Father's  love,  as  being  the  image  of 
the  goodness  of  God,  why  should  not  the  sun  say  with  greater 
reason  to  those  that  bow  down  to  him.  Why  do  you  worship 
me  ?  "  for  thou  wilt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  Him  only 
shalt  thou  serve  ;"^  for  it  is  He  whom  I  and  all  who  are  with 
me  serve  and  worship.  And  although  one  may  not  be  so 
exalted  [as  the  sun],  nevertheless  let  such  an  one  pray  to  the 
Word  of  God  (who  is  able  to  heal  him),  and  still  more  to  His 
Father,  who  also  to  the  righteous  of  former  times  ''  sent  His 
w^ord,  and  healed  them,  and  delivered  them  from  their  de- 
structions."^ 

3  Cf.  Jlatt.  xix.  17  ;  cf.  Mark  x.  18.  *  Ibid. 

«  Cf.  Deut.  vi.  13.  «  Cf.  Ps.  evil.  20. 


280  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

Chapter  xii. 

God  accordingly,  in  His  kindness,  condescends  to  mankind, 
not  in  any  local  sense,  but  through  His  providence ;  ^  ■while  the 
Son  of  God,  not  only  [when  on  earth],  but  at  all  times,  is  with 
His  own  disciples,  fulfilling  the  promise,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you 
always,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world." ^  And  if  a  branch  cannot 
bear  fruit  except  it  abide  in  the  vine,  it  is  evident  that  the  dis- 
ciples also  of  the  Word,  who  are  the  rational  branches  of  the 
Word's  true  vine,  cannot  produce  the  fruits  of  virtue  unless  they 
abide  in  the  true  vine,  the  Christ  of  God,  who  is  with  us  locally 
here  below  upon  the  earth,  and  who  is  with  those  who  cleave 
to  Him  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  is  also  in  all  places  with 
those  who  do  not  know  Him.  Another  is  made  manifest  by 
that  John  who  wrote  the  Gospel,  when,  speaking  in  the  person 
of  John  the  Baptist,  he  said,  "  There  standeth  one  among  you 
whom  ye  know  not ;  He  it  is  who  cometh  after  me."  ^  And 
it  is  absurd,  when  He  who  fills  heaven  and  earth,  and  who 
said,  "  Do  I  not  fill  heaven  and  earth  ?  saith  the  Lord,"  *  is  with 
us,  and  near  us  (for  I  believe  Him  when  He  says,  "I  am  a 
God  nigh  at  hand,  and  not  afar  off,  saith  the  Lord  "  ^),  to  seek 
to  pray  to  sun  or  moon,  or  one  of  the  stars,  whose  influence 
does  not  reach  the  whole  of  the  world. *^  But,  to  use  the  very 
words  of  Celsus,  let  it  be  granted  that  "  the  sun,  moon,  and 
stars  do  foretell  rain,  and  heat,  and  clouds,  and  thunders,"  why, 
then,  if  they  really  do  foretell  such  great  things,  ought  we  not 
rather  to  do  homage  to  God,  whose  servant  they  are  in  uttering 
these  predictions,  and  show  reverence  to  Him  rather  than  His 
prophets  ?  Let  them  predict,  then,  the  approach  of  lightnings, 
and  fruits,  and  all  manner  of  productions,  and  let  all  such 
things  be  under  their  administration ;  yet  we  shall  not  on  that 
account  worship  those  who  themselves  offer  worship,  as  we  do 
not  worship  even  Moses,  and  those  prophets  who  came  from  God 
after  him,  and  who  predicted  better  things  than  rain,  and  heat, 
and  clouds,  and  thunders,  and  lightnings,  and  fruits,  and  all  sorts 
of  productions  visible  to  the  senses.     Nay,  even  if  sun,  and 

'  rrpouor.TiKu;.  ^  Matt,  xxviii.  20.  ^  Cf.  John  i.  26,  27. 

*  Cf.  Jer.  xxiii.  24.  «  Cf.  Jer.  xxiii.  23. 


Book  V.J  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  281 

moon,  and  stars  were  able  to  prophesy  better  things  than  rain, 
not  even  then  shall  we  worship  them,  but  the  Fatlier  of  the 
pro]ihecie3  Avhich  are  in  them,  and  the  Word  of  God,  their 
minister.  But  grant  that  they  are  His  heralds,  and  truly  mes- 
sengers of  heaven,  why,  even  then  ought  we  not  to  worship 
the  God  whom  they  only  proclaim  and  announce,  rather  than 
those  who  are  the  heralds  and  messengers  ? 

Chapter  xiii. 

Celsus,  moreover,  assumes  that  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars  are 
regarded  by  us  as  of  no  account.  Now,  with  regard  to  these, 
we  acknowledge  that  they  too  are  "  waiting  for  the  manifesta- 
tion of  the  sons  of  God,"  being  for  the  present  subjected  to 
the  "  vanity  "  of  their  material  bodies,  "  by  reason  of  Him  who 
lias  subjected  the  same  in  hope."^  But  if  Celsus  had  read  tlie 
innumerable  other  passages  where  we  speak  of  sun,  moon,  and 
stai's,  and  especially  these, — "  Praise  Him,  all  ye  stars,  and  thou, 
O  light,""  and,  ^'Praise  Plim,  ye  heaven  of  heavens," — he  would 
not  have  said  of  us  that  we  regard  such  mighty  beings,  which 
"  greatly  praise  "'  the  Lord  God,  as  of  no  account.  Nor  did 
Celsus  know  the  passage  :  "  For  the  earnest  expectation  of  the 
creature  waiteth  for  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God. 
For  the  creature  was  made  subject  to  vanity,  not  willingly,  but 
by  reason  of  Him  who  hath  subjected  the  same  in  hope;  because 
the  creature  itself  also  shall  be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of 
corruption  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God."  '" 
And  w^ith  these  words  let  us  terminate  our  defence  against  the 
charge  of  not  worshipping  sun,  moon,  and  stars.  And  let  us 
now  bring  forward  those  statements  of  his  which  follow,  that 
Ave  may,  God  willing,  address  to  him  in  reply  such  arguments 
as  shall  be  suggested  by  the  light  of  truth. 

Chapter  xiv. 

The  following,  then,  are  his  words  :  "  It  is  folly  on  their  part 
to  suppose  that  when  God,  as  if  He  were  a  cook,*  introduces 
the  fire  [which  is  to  consume  the  world],  all  the  rest  of  the 
human  race  will  be  burnt  up,  while  they  alone  will  remain,  not 

1  Cf.  Rom.  viii.  19-21.  2  cf  pg  cxMii.  3. 

2  Cf.  Rom.  viii.  19-21.  *  uaTnp  fixyupos. 


282  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

only  such  of  them  as  are  then  alive,  but  also  those  who  are  long 
since  dead,  which  latter  will  arise  from  the  earth  clothed  with 
the  self-same  flesh  [as  during  life]  ;  for  such  a  hope  is  simply 
one  which  might  be  cherished  by  worms.  For  what  sort  of 
human  soul  is  that  which  would  still  long  for  a  body  that  had 
been  subject  to  corruption?  Whence,  also,  this  opinion  of 
yours  is  not  shared  by  some  of  the  Christians,  and  they  pro- 
nounce it  to  be  exceedingly  vile,  and  loathsome,  and  impossible  ; 
for  what  kind  of  body  is  that  which,  after  being  completely 
corrupted,  can  return  to  its  original  nature,  and  to  that  self- 
same first  condition  out  of  which  it  fell  into  dissolution  ? 
Being  unable  to  return  any  answ^er,  they  betake  themselves 
to  a  most  absurd  refuge,  viz.  that  all  things  are  possible  to 
God.  And  yet  God  cannot  do  things  that  are  disgraceful,  nor 
does  He  wish  to  do  things  that  are  contrary  to  His  nature  ;  nor, 
if  (in  accordance  with  the  wickedness  of  your  own  heart)  you 
desired  anything  that  was  evil,  would  God  accomplish  it ;  nor 
must  you  believe  at  once  that  it  will  be  done.  For  God  does 
not  rule  the  world  in  order  to  satisfy  inordinate  desires,  or  to 
allow  disorder  and  confusion,  but  to  govern  a  nature  that  is 
upright  and  just.-^  For  the  soul,  indeed,  He  might  be  able  to 
provide  an  everlasting  life  ;  while  dead  bodies,  on  the  contrary, 
are,  as  Heraclitus  observes,  more  worthless  than  dung.  God, 
howevei',  neither  can  nor  will  declare,  contrary  to  all  reason, 
that  the  flesh,  which  is  full  of  those  things  which  it  is  not  even 
honourable  to  mention,  is  to  exist  for  ever.  For  He  is  the 
reason  of  all  things  that  exist,  and  therefore  can  do  nothing 
either  contrary  to  reason  or  contrary  to  Himself." 

Chaftep.  XV. 

Observe,  now,  here  at  the  very  beginning,  how,  in  ridiculing 
the  doctrine  of  a  conflagration  of  the  world,  held  by  certain  of 
the  Greeks  \\\\o  have  treated  the  subject  in  a  philosophic  spirit 
not  to  be  depreciated,  he  would  make  us,  "  representing  God,  as 
it  were,  as  a  cook,  hold  the  belief  in  a  general  conflagration ; " 
not  perceiving  that,  as  certain  Greeks  were  of  opinion  (perhaps 
havinrr  received  their  information  from  the  ancient  nation  of 

o 
^  oil  yoc.p  Tvig  "Trywif^i^ihovg  opz^eu;,  oi/oi  tyu  zn^'KuvYif^ivYig  ctx-osfiiu;,  «X?ka 
T^f  6pd/i;  Kul  iticulci;  (puaiu;  Qsog  lariv  oipx,Y\'-/i-Tns. 


Book  v.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  283 

the  Hebrews),  it  is  a  purificatory  fire  which  is  brought  upon  the 
world,  and  probably  also  on  each  one  of  those  who  stand  in 
need  of  chastisement  by  the  fire  and  healing  at  the  same  time, 
seeing  it  hums  indeed,  but  does  not  consume,  those  who  are 
without  a  material  body,^  whicli  needs  to  be  consumed  by  that 
fire,  and  which  burns  and  consumes  those  who  by  their  actions, 
words,  and  thoughts  have  built  up  wood,  or  hay,  or  stubble,  in 
that  which  is  figuratively  termed  a  "  building.'"^  And  the  Holy 
Scriptures  say  that  the  Lord  will,  like  a  refiner's  fire  and 
fuller's  soap,^  visit  each  one  of  those  who  require  purification, 
because  of  the  intermingling  in  them  of  a  flood  of  wicked 
matter  proceeding  from  their  evil  nature  ;  who  need  fire,  I 
mean,  to  refine,  as  it  were,  [the  dross  of]  those  who  are  inter- 
mingled with  copper,  and  tin,  and  lead.  And  he  who  likes 
may  learn  this  from  the  prophet  Ezekiel.*  But  that  we  say 
that  God  brings  fire  upon  the  world,  not  like  a  cook,  but  like  a 
God,  who  is  the  benefactor  of  them  who  stand  in  need  of  the 
discipline  of  fire,^  will  be  testified  by  the  prophet  Isaiah,  in 
whose  writings  it  is  related  that  a  sinful  nation  was  thus  ad- 
dressed :  "  Because  thou  hast  coals  of  fire,  sit  upon  them : 
.they  shall  be  to  thee  a  help."  ^  Now  the  Scripture  is  appro- 
Ipriately  adapted  to  the  multitudes  of  those  who  are  to  peruse 
it,  because  it  speaks  obscurely  of  things  that  are  sad  and  gloomy j'^ 
in  order  to  terrify  those  who  cannot  by  any  other  means  be 
(saved  from  the  flood  of  their  sins,  although  even  then  the 
attentive  reader  will  clearly  discover  the  end  that  is  to  be  accom- 
plished by  these  sad  and  painful  punishments  upon  those  who 
endure  them.  It  is  sufficient,  however,  for  the  present  to  quote 
the  words  of  Isaiah :  "  For  my  name's  sake  will  I  show  mine 
anger,  and  my  glory  I  will  bring  upon  thee,  that  I  may  not 
destroy  thee."  ^  We  have  thus  been  under  the  necessity  of 
referring  in  obscure  terms  to  questions  not  fitted  to  the  capacity 
of  simple  believers,  who  require  a  simpler  instruction  in  words, 
that  we  might  not  appear  to  leave  unrefuted  the  accusation  of 
Celsus,  that  "  God  introduces  the  fire,  [which  is  to  destroy  the 
'world],  as  if  He  were  a  cook." 

1  i-Knu.  2  cf^  1  Cor.  iii.  12.       s  cf.  Mai.  iii.  2. 

*  Cf.  Ezek.  sxii.  18,  20.      °  t^ou-.v  y.a.\  ■rrvpii.         6  cf_  iga.  xlvii.  14,  15. 

'  Tu.  GKudpuTsroi.  8  Cf,  isa.  xlviii.  9  (Septuagint). 


284  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

Chapter  xvi. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  will  be  manifest  to  intelligent 
hearers  how  we  have  to  answer  the  following :  "  All  the  rest 
of  the  race  Avill  be  completely  burnt  up,  and  they  alone  will 
remain."  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  indeed,  if  such  thoughts 
have  been  entertained  by  those  amongst  us  who  are  called  in 
Scripture  the  "  foolish  things  "  of  the  world,  and  "  base  things," 
and  "  things  which  are  despised,"  and  "  things  which  are  not," 
because  "by  the  foolishness  of  preaching  it  pleased  God  to 
save  them  that  believe  on  Him,  after  that,  in  the  wisdom  of 
God,  the  world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God,"  ^ — because  such 
individuals  are  unable  to  see  distinctly  the  sense  of  each  par- 
ticular passage,^  or  unwilling  to  devote  the  necessary  leisure  to 
the  investigation  of  Scripture,  notwithstanding  the  injunction  of 
Jesus,  "  Search  the  Scriptures."  ^  The  following,  moreover, 
are  his  ideas  regarding  the  fire  w^hich  is  to  be  brought  upon 
the  world  by  God,  and  the  punishments  which  are  to  befall 
sinners.  And  perhaps,  as  it  is  -appropriate  to  children  that 
some  thino;s  should  be  addressed  to  them  in  a  manner  befitting 
their  infantile  condition,  to  convert  them,  as  being  of  very 
tender  age,  to  a  better  course  of  life;  so,  to  those  whom  the  word 
terms  "  the  foolish  things  of  the  world,"  and  "  the  base,"  and 
"  the  despised,"  the  just  and  obvious  meaning  of  the  passages 
relating  to  punishments  is  suitable,  inasmuch  as  they  cannot 
receive  any  other  mode  of  conversion  than  that  which  is  by 
fear  and  the  presentation  of  punishment,  and  thus  be  saved 
from  the  many  evils  [which  would  befall  them].*  The  Scrip- 
ture accordingly  declares  that  only  those  who  are  unscathed  by 
the  fire  and  the  punishments  are  to  remain, — those,  viz.,  whose 
opinions,  and  morals,  and  mind  have  been  purified  to  the 
highest  degree  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  those  of  a  different 
nature — those,  viz.,  wlio,  according  to  their  deserts,  require  the 
administration  of  punishment  by  fire — will  be  involved  in  these 
sufferings  with  a  view  to  an  end  which  it  is  suitable  for  God 
.  to  bring  upon  those  who  have  been  created  in  His  image,  but 
who  have  lived  in  opposition  to  the  will  of  that  nature  which 

^  Cf.  1  Cor.  i.  21.  -  Ta  x-ciToi  rov;  ToVoyj. 

^  Cf.  John  V.  39.  *  Ktie.1  ruv  -zo'hKux  kuxuu  u,7:oy;f,v. 


Book  V.J  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  285 

is  according  to  His  image.  And  tliis  is  our  answer  to  tlie  state- 
ment, ''  All  the  rest  of  the  race  will  be  completely  burnt  up, 
bat  they  alone  are  to  remain." 

Chapter  xvit. 

Then,  in  the  next  place,  having  either  himself  misunderstood 
the  sacred  Scriptures,  or  those  [interpreters]  by  whom  they  were 
not  understood,  he  proceeds  to  assert  that  "  it  is  said  by  us  that 
there  will  remain  at  the  time  of  the  visitation  which  is  to  come 
npon  the  world  by  the  fire  of  purification,  not  only  those  Avho 
are  then  alive,  but  also  those  who  are  long  ago  dead ; "  not  ob- 
serving that  it  is  with  a  secret  kind  of  wisdom  that  it  was  said 
by  the  apostle  of  Jesus  :  "  We  shall  not  all  sleep,  but  we  shall 
all  be  changed,  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the 
last  trump  ;  for  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be 
raised  incorruptible,  and  we  shall  be  changed."  ^  Now  he  ought 
to  have  noticed  what  was  the  meaning  of  him  who  uttered 
these  words,  as  being  one  who  was  by  no  means  dead,  who 
made  a  distinction  between  himself  and  those  like  him  and  the 
dead,  and  who  said  afterwards,  "  The  dead  shall  be  raised 
incorruptible,"  and  "we  shall  be  changed."  And  as  a  proof 
that  such  was  the  apostle's  meaning  in  writing  those  words 
which  I  have  quoted  from  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians, 
I  will  quote  also  from  the  First  to  the  Thessalonians,  in  which 
Paul,  as  one  who  is  alive  and  awake,  and  different  from  those 
who  are  asleep,  speaks  as  follows  :  "  For  this  we  say  unto  you 
by  the  word  of  the  Lord,  that  we  who  are  alive  and  remain 
unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  shall  not  prevent  them  who  are 
asleep  ;  for  the  Lord  Himself  shall  descend  from  heaven  with 
a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and  with  the  trump 
of  God."  ^  Then,  again,  after  this,  knowing  that  there  were 
others  dead  in  Christ  besides  himself  and  such  as  he,  he  sub- 
joins the  words,  "  The  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first ;  then 
we  who  are  alive  and  remain  shall  be  caught  up  together  with 
them  in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air."  ^ 

1  Cf.  1  Cor.  XV.  51,  52. 

2  Cf.  1  Thess.  iv.  15,  16. 

3  Cf.  1  Thess.  iv.  16,  17. 


286  OniGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

CHArTER  XVIII. 

But  since  he  has  ridiculed  at  great  length  the  doctrine  of 
the  resurrection  of  the  flesh,  which  has  been  preached  in  the 
churches,  and  which  is  more  clearly  understood  by  the  more 
intelligent  believer  ;  and  as  it  is  unnecessary  again  to  quote  his 
words,  which  have  been  already  adduced,  let  us,  with  regard  to 
the  problem  ^  (as  in  an  apologetic  work  directed  against  an 
alien  from  the  faith,  and  for  the  sake  of  those  who  are  still 
"  children,  tossed  to  and  fro,  and  can'ied  about  with  every 
wind  of  doctrine,  by  the  sleight  of  men,  and  cunning  crafti- 
ness, whereby  they  lie  in  wait  to  deceive  "  ^),  state  and  establish 
to  the  best  of  our  ability  a  few  points  expressly  intended  for 
our  readers.  Neither  we,  then,  nor  the  Holy  Scriptures,  assert 
that  with  the  same  bodies,  without  a  change  to  a  higher  con- 
dition, "  shall  those  who  were  long  dead  arise  from  the  earth 
and  live  again ; "  for  in  so  speaking,  Celsus  makes  a  false 
charge  against  us.  For  we  may  listen  to  many  passages  of 
Scripture  treating  of  the  resurrection  in  a  manner  worthy  of 
God,  although  it  may  suffice  for  the  present  to  quote  the 
language  of  Paul  from  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians, 
where  he  says  :  ''  But  some  man  will  say.  How  are  the  dead 
raised  up  ?  and  with  what  body  do  they  come  ?  Thou  fool,  that 
which  thou  sowest  is  not  quickened,  except  it  die.  And  that 
which  thou  sowest,  thou  sowest  not  that  body  that  shall  be,  but 
bare  grain,  it  may  chance  of  wheat,  or  of  some  other  grain  ; 
but  God  giveth  it  a  body  as  it  hath  pleased  Him,  and  to  every 
seed  his  own  body."  ^  Now,  observe  how  in  these  words  he 
says  that  there  is  sown,  "  not  that  body  that  shall  be;"  but' that 
of  the  body  which  is  sown  and  cast  naked  into  the  earth  (God 
giving  to  each  seed  its  own  body),  there  takes  place  as  it  were 
a  resurrection :  from  the  seed  that  was  cast  into  the  ground 
there  arising  a  stalk,  e.g.  among  such  plants  as  the  following, 
viz.  the  mustard  plant,  or  of  a  larger  tree,  as  in  the  olive,*  or 
one  of  the  fruit-trees. 

Chapter  xix. 

God,  then,  gives  to  each  thing  its  own  body  as  He  pleases  : 

^  -TTipl  rov  vpofiT^'/i/xccTOs  toxnov.  '  Cf.  Eph.  iv.  14. 

^  Cf.  1  Cor.  XV.  35-38.  ■*  iv  i'haicis  Trvpijvi. 


Book  v.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  287 

as  in  the  case  of  plants  that  are  sown,  so  also  in  the  case  of 
those  beings  who  are,  as  it  were,  sown  in  dying,  and  who  in 
due  time  receive,  out  of  what  has  been  "  sown,"  the  body 
assigned  by  God  to  each  one  according  to  his  deserts.  And  we 
may  hear,  moreover,  the  Scripture  teaching  us  at  great  length 
the  difference  between  that  which  is,  as  it  were,  "  sown,"  and 
that  which  is,  as  it  were,  "raised"  from  it,  in  these  words:  "It 
is  sown  in  corruption,  it  is  raised  in  incorruption ;  it  is  sown  in 
dishonour,  it  is  raised  in  glory ;  it  is  sown  in  weakness,  it  is 
raised  in  power ;  it  is  sown  a  natural  body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual 
body."^  And  let  him  who  has  the  capacity  understand  the 
meaning  of  the  words :  "  As  is  the  earthy,  such  are  they  also 
that  are  earthy  ;  and  as  is  the  heavenly,  such  are  they  also  that 
are  heavenly.  And  as  we  have  borne  the  image  of  the  earthy, 
we  shall  also  bear  the  image  of  the  heavenly."""  And  although 
the  apostle  wished  to  conceal  the  secret  meaning  of  the  passage, 
wliich  was  not  adapted  to  the  simpler  class  of  believers,  and  to 
the  understanding  of  the  common  people,  who  are  led  by  their 
faith  to  enter  on  a  better  course  of  life,  he  was  nevertheless 
obliged  afterwards  to  say  (in  order  that  we  might  not  mis- 
apprehend his  meaning),  after  "  Let  us  bear  the  image  of  the 
heavenly,"  these  words  also  :  "  Now  this  I  say,  brethren,  that 
flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God ;  neither 
doth  corruption  inherit  incorruption."^  Then,  knowing  that 
there  was  a  secret  and  mystical  meaning  in  the  passage,  as  was 
becoming  in  one  who  was  leaving,  in  his  epistles,  to  those  who 
were  to  come  after  him  words  full  of  significance,  he  subjoins 
the  following,  "Behold,  I  show  you  a  mystery;"*  which  is  his 
usual  style  in  introducing  matters  of  a  profounder  and  more 
mystical  nature,  and  such  as  are  fittingly  concealed  from  the 
multitude,  as  is  written  in  the  book  of  Tobit :  "  It  is  good  to 
keep  close  the  secret  of  a  king,  but  honourable  to  reveal  the 
works  of  God,"^ — in  a  way  consistent  with  truth  and  God's 
glory,  and  so  as  to  be  to  the  advantage  of  the  multitude.  Our 
hope,  then,  is  not  "'  the  hope  of  worms,  nor  does  our  soul  long 
for  a  body  that  has  seen   corruption  ;"  for  although  it  may 

1  Cf.  1  Cor.  XV.  42,  43.  -  Cf.  1  Cor.  xv.  48,  49. 

3  Cf.  1  Cor.  XV.  49.  "  Cf.  1  Cor.  xv.  50. 

5  Cf.  Tobit  xii.  7. 


288  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

require  a  body,  for  the  sake  of  moving  from  place  to  place/ 
yet  It  understands  (as  having  meditated  on  the  wisdom  [that 
is  from  above],  agreeably  to  the  declaration,  "  The  mouth  of 
the  righteous  will  speak  wisdom"^)  the  difference  between  the 
"  earthly  house,"  in  which  is  the  tabernacle  of  the  building  that 
is  to  be  dissolved,  and  that  in  which  the  righteous  do  groan, 
being  burdened, — not  wishing  to  "put  off"  the  tabernacle,  but 
to  be  "  clothed  therewith,"  that  by  being  clothed  upon,  mor- 
tality might  be  swallowed  up  of  life.  For,  in  virtue  of  the 
whole  nature  of  the  body  being  corruptible,  the  corruptible 
tabernacle  must  put  on  incorruption  ;  and  its  other  part,  being 
mortal,  and  becoming  liable  to  the  death  which  follows  sin, 
must  put  on  immortality,  in  order  that,  when  the  corruptible! 
shall  have  put  on  incorruption,  and  the  mortal  immortality, 
then  shall  come  to  pass  what  was  predicted  of  old  by  the 
prophets, — the  annihilation  of  the  "victory"  of  death  (because 
it  had  conquered  and  subjected  us  to  his  sway),  and  of  its 
"sting,"  with  which  it  stings  the  imperfectly  defended  soul, 
and  inflicts  upon  it  the  wounds  which  result  from  sin. 

Chapter  xx. 

But  since  our  views  regarding  the  resurrection  have,  as  far 
as  time  would  permit,  been  stated  in  part  on  the  present  occa- 
sion (for  we  have  systematically  examined  the  subject  in  greater 
detail  in  other  parts  of  our  waitings) ;  and  as  now  we  must 
by  means  of  sound  reasoning  refute  the  fallacies  of  Celsus, 
who  neither  understands  the  meaning  of  our  Scripture,  nor  has 
the  capacity  of  judging  that  the  meaning  of  our  wise  men  is 
not  to  be  determined  by  those  individuals  who  make  no  pro- 
fession of  anything  more  than  of  a  [simple]  faith  in  the  Chris- 
tian system,  let  us  show  that  men,  not  to  be  lightly  esteemed  on 
account  of  their  reasoning  powers  and  dialectic  subtleties,  have 
given  expression  to  very  absurd^  opinions.  And  if  we  must 
sneer^  at  them  as  contemptible  old  wives'  fables,  it  is  at  them 
rather  than  at  our  narrative  that  we  must  sneer.  The  dis- 
ciples of  the  Porch  assert,  that  after  a  period  of  years  there 
will  be  a  conflagration  of  the  world,  and  after  that  an  arrange- 

^  B/flt  Toig  roTTiKx;  (/.iruiiikaiti.  "  Cf.  Ps.  XXXvii.  30. 


Book  v.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  289 

ment  of  things  in  which  everything  will  be  unchanged,  as 
compared  with  the  former  arrangement  of  the  world.  Those 
of  them,  however,  who  evinced  their  respect  for  this  doctrine 
have  said  that  there  will  be  a  change,  although  exceedingly 
slight,  at  the  end  of  the  cycle,  from  what  prevailed  during  the 
preceding.  And  these  men  maintain,  that  in  the  succeeding 
cycle  the  same  things  will  occur,  and  Socrates  will  be  again  the 
son  of  Sophroniscus,  and  a  native  of  Athens  ;  and  Phsenarete, 
being  married  to  Sophroniscus,  will  again  become  his  mother. 
And  although  they  do  not  mention  the  word  "  resurrection," 
they  show  in  reality  that  Socrates,  who  derived  his  origin  from 
seed,  will  spring  from  that  of  Sophroniscus,  and  will  be 
fashioned  in  the  womb  of  Pheenarete  ;  and  being  brought  up 
at  Athens,  will  practise  the  study  of  philosophy,  as  if  his  former 
philosophy  had  arisen  again,  and  were  to  be  in  no  respect  dif- 
ferent from  what  it  was  before.  Anytus  and  Melitus,  too,  will 
arise  again  as  accusers  of  Socrates,  and  the  Council  of  Areo- 
pagus will  condemn  him  to  death  !  But  what  is  more  ridiculous 
still,  is  that  Socrates  will  clothe  himself  with  garments  not  at 
all  different  from  those  which  he  wore  during  the  former  cycle, 
and  will  live  in  the  same  unchanged  state  of  poverty,  and  in 
the  same  unchanged  city  of  Athens !  And  Phalaris  will  again 
play  the  tyrant,  and  his  brazen  bull  will  pour  forth  its  bellow- 
ings  from  the  voices  of  victims  within,  unchanged  from  those 
who  were  condemned  in  the  former  cycle !  And  Alexander  of 
Pherse,  too,  will  again  act  the  tyrant  with  a  cruelty  unaltered 
from  the  former  time,  and  will  condemn  to  death  the  same 
"  unchanged"  individuals  as  before.  But  what  need  is  there  to 
go  into  detail  upon  the  doctrine  held  by  the  Stoic  philosophers 
on  such  things,  and  which  escapes  the  ridicule  of  Celsus,  and 
is  perhaps  even  venerated  by  him,  since  he  regards  Zeno  as  a 
wiser  man  than  Jesus  ? 

Chapter  xxi. 

The  disciples  of  Pythagoras,  too,  and  of  Plato,  although  they 
appear  to  hold  the  incorruptibility  of  the  world,  yet  fall  into 
similar  errors.  For  as  the  planets,  after  certain  definite  cycles, 
assume  the  same  positions,  and  hold  the  same  relations  to  one 
another,  all  things  on  earth  will,  they  assert,  be  like  what  they 

OFJG. — VOL.  II.  T 


290  OEIGEN  A  GAINST  CELS  US.  [Book  v. 

were  at  the  time  when  the  same  state  of  planetary  relations 
existed  in  the  world.  From  this  view  it  necessarily  follows, 
that  when,  after  the  lapse  of  a  lengthened  cycle,  tlie  planets 
come  to  occupy  towards  each  other  the  same  relations  which 
they  occupied  in  the  time  of  Socrates,  Socrates  will  again  be 
born  of  the  same  parents,  and  suffer  the  same  treatment,  being 
accused  by  Anytus  and  Melltus,  and  condemned  by  the  Council 
of  Areopagus  !  The  learned  among  the  Egyptians,  moreover, 
hold  similar  views,  and  yet  they  are  treated  with  respect,  and 
do  not  incur  the  ridicule  of  Celsus  and  such  as  he;  while  we, 
who  maintain  that  all  things  are  administered  by  God  in  pro- 
portion to  the  relation  of  the  frecrJoill  of  each  individual,  and  are 
ever  being  brought  into  a  better  condition,  so  far  as  they  admit 
of  being  so,^  and  who  know  that  the  nature  of  our  free-will  ad- 
mits of  the  occurrence  of  contingent  events^  (for  it  is  incapable 
of  receiving  the  wholly  unchangeable  cliaracter  of  God),  yet 
do  not  appear  to  say  anything  worthy  of  a  testing  examination. 

Chapter  xxii. 

Let  no  one,  however,  suspect  that,  in  speaking  as  we  do,  we 
belong  to  those  who  are  indeed  called  Christians,  but  who  set 
aside  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  as  it  is  taught  in  Scrip- 
ture. For  these  persons  cannot,  so  far  as  their  principles 
apply,  at  all  establish  that  the  stalk  or  tree  which  springs  up 
comes  from  the  grain  of  wheat,  or  anything  else  [which  was 
cast  into  the  ground] ;  whereas  we,  who  believe  that  that 
which  is  "sown"  is  not  "quickened"  unless  it  die,  and  that 
there  is  sown  not  that  body  that  shall  be  (for  God  gives  it  a 
body  as  it  pleases  Him,  raising  it  in  incorruption  after  it  is 
sown  in  corruption ;  and  after  it  is  sown  in  dishonour,  raising 
it  in  glory ;  and  after  it  is  sown  in  weakness,  raising  it  in 
power ;  and  after  it  is  sown  a  natural  body,  raising  it  a  spiritual), 
— we  preserve  both  the  doctrine^  of  the  church  of  Christ  and 
the  grandeur  of  the  divine  promise,  proving  also  the  possibility 
of  its  accomplishment  not  by  mere  assertion,  but  by  arguments; 
knowing  that  although  heaven  and  earth,  and  the  things  that 

^  KXToi  TO  ivhi')(,i!^i'JOV. 

^  x,ce.]  T'/jv  ToZ  £^'  vi/4,l;u  (pvaiv  yiyvuax.ov-i;  hos^oyAvov  «  ivlexiTXl. 


i 


Book  v.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  291 

are  in  them,  may  pass  away,  yet  His  words  regarding  each 
individual  thing,  being,  as  parts  of  a  whole,  or  species  of  a 
genus,  the  utterances  of  Him  who  was  God  the  Word,  wlio 
was  in  the  beginning  with  God,  shall  by  no  means  pass  away. 
For  we  desire  to  listen  to  Him  who  said  :  "  Heaven  and  earth 
shall  pass  away,  but  my  words  shall  not  pass  away."^ 

Chapter  xxiii. 

Wo,  therefore,  do  not  maintain  that  the  body  which  has 
'undergone  corruption  resumes  its  original  nature,  any  more 
than  the  grain  of  wheat  which  has  decayed  returns  to  its  former 
condition.  But  we  do  maintain,  that  as  above  the  grain  of  wheat 
there  arises  a  stalk,  so  a  certain  power '^  is  implanted  in  the 
body,  which  is  not  destroyed,  and  from  which  the  body  is  raised 
up  in  incorruption.  The  philosophers  of  the  Porch,  however, 
in  consequence  of  the  opinions  which  they  hold  regarding  the 
unchangeableness  of  things  after  a  certain  cycle,  assert  that  the 
body,  after  undergoing  complete  corruption,  will  return  to  its 
original  condition,  and  will  again  assume  that  first  nature  from 
which  it  passed  into  a  state  of  dissolution,  establishing  these 
points,  as  they  think,  by  irresistible  arguments.^  We,  however, 
jdo  not  betake  ourselves  to  a  most  absurd  refuge,  saying  that 
/with  God  all  things  are  possible  ;  for  we  know  how  to  under- 
! stand  this  word  "all"  as  not  referring  either  to  thino;s  that  are 
r' non-existent  "  or  that  are  inconceivable.  But  we  maintain, 
at  the  same  time,  that  God  cannot  do  what  is  disgraceful,  since 
then  He  would  be  capable  of  ceasing  to  be  God ;  for  if  He  do 
anything  that  is  disgraceful,  He  is  not  God.  Since,  however, 
he  lays  it  down  as  a  principle,  that  "  God  does  not  desire  what 
is  contrary  to  nature,"  we  have  to  make  a  distinction,  and  say 
that  if  any  one  asserts  that  wickedness  is  contrary  to  nature, 
while  we  maintain  that  '■^  God  does  not  desire  what  is  contrar}^ 
to  nature," — either  what  springs,  from  wickedness  or  from  an 
irrational  principle, — yet,  if  such  things  happen  according  to 
the  word  and  will  of  God,  we  must  at  once  necessarily  hold  that 
they  are  not  contrary  to  nature.  Therefore  things  which  are 
done  by  God,  although  they  may  be,  or  may  appear  to  some  to 
1  Cf.  Matt.  xxiv.  35  ;  cf.  Mark  xiii.  31. 


292  0  RIG  EN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

be  incredible,  are  not  contrary  to  nature.  And  if  we  must  press 
the  force  of  words,^  we  would  say  that,  in  comparison  with  what  is 
generally  understood  as  "  nature,"  there  are  certain  things  which 
are  beyond  its  power,  which  God  could  at  any  time  do;  as,  e.g.,  in 
raising  man  above  the  level  of  human  nature,  and  causing  him 
to  pass  into  a  better  and  more  divine  condition,  and  preserving 
him  in  the  same,  so  long  as  he  who  is  the  object  of  His  care 
sho^Ys  by  his  actions  that  he  desires  [the  continuance  of  His  help]. 

Chapter  xxiv. 

Moreover,  as  we  have  already  said  that  for  God  to  desire  any- 
thing unbecoming  Himself  would  be  destructive  of  His  existence 
as  Deity,  we  will  add  that  if  man,  agreeably  to  the  wickedness  of 
his  nature,  should  desire  anything  that  is  abominable,^  God  can- 
not grant  it.    And  now  it  is  from  no  spirit  of  contention  that  we 
answer  the  assertions  of  Celsus  ;  but  it  is  in  the  spirit  of  truth 
that  we  investigate  them,  as  assenting  to  his  view  that  "  He  is 
the  God,  not  of  inordinate  desires,  nor  of  error  and  disorder, 
but  of  a  nature  just  and  upright,"  because  He  is  the  source  of 
all  that  is  good.     And  that  He  is  able  to  provide  an  eternal 
life  for  the  soul  we  acknowledge ;  and  that  He  possesses  not 
only  the  "  power,"  but  the  "  will."     In  view,  therefore,  of  these 
considerations,  we  are  not  at  all  distressed  by  the  assertion  of 
Heraclitus,  adopted  by  Celsus,  that  "  dead  bodies  are  to  be  cast 
out  as  more  worthless  than  dung ;  "  and  yet,  with  reference  even 
to  this,  one  might  say  that  dung,  indeed,  ought  to  be  cast  out, 
while  the  dead  bodies  of  men,  on  account  of  the  soul  by  which 
they  were  inhabited,  especially  if  it  had  been  virtuous,  ought 
not  to  be  cast  out.     For,  in  harmony  with  those  laws  which  are 
based  upon  the  principles  of  equity,  bodies  are  deemed  worthy 
of  sepulture,  with  the  honours  accorded  on  such  occasions,  that 
no  insult,  so  far  as  can  be  helped,  may  be  offered  to  the  soul 
which  dwelt  within,  by  casting  forth  the  body  (after  the  soul 
has  departed)   like  that  of  the  animals.      Let  it  not  then  be 
held,  contrary  to  reason,  that  it  is  the  will  of  God  to  declare 
that  the  grain  of  wheat  is  not  immortal,  but  the  stalk  which 
springs  from  it,  while  the  body  which  is  sown  in  corruption  is 
not,  but  that  which  is  raised  by  Plim  in  incorruption.      But 

^  il  OS  xo'h  iSiSixauivug  cvouuaat,  "  (ioi'hvpou. 


Book  v.]  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  293 

according  to  Celsus,  God  Himself  is  the  reason  of  all  things, 
while  according  to  our  view  it  is  His  Son,  of  whom  we  say  in 
philosophic  language,  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and 
the  Word  was  Avith  God,  and  the  Word  was  God  ; "  ^  while  in 
our  judgment  also,  God  cannot  do  anything  which  is  contrary 
to  reason,  or  contrary  to  Himself. 

CHArXER  XXV. 

Let  us  next  notice  the  statements  of  Celsus,  which  follow 
the  preceding,  and  which  are  as  follow  :  "  As  the  Jews,  then, 
became  a  peculiar  people,  and  enacted  laws  in  keeping  with  the 
customs  of  their  country,^  and  maintain  them  up  to  the  present 
time,  and  observe  a  mode  of  worship  which,  whatever  be  its 
nature,  is  yet  derived  from  their  fathers,  they  act  in  these  re- 
spects like  other  men,  because  each  nation  retains  its  ancestral 
customs,  whatever  they  are,  if  they  happen  to  be  established 
among  them.  And  such  an  arrangement  appears  to  be  advan- 
tageous, not  only  because  it  has  occurred  to  the  mind  of  other 
nations  to  decide  some  things  dififerently,  but  also  because  it  is 
a  duty  to  protect  what  has  been  established  for  the  public  ad- 
vantage; and  also  because,  in  all  probabiHty,  the  various  quar- 
ters of  the  earth  were  from  the  beginning  allotted  to  different 
superintending  spirits,^  and  were  thus  distributed  among  certain 
governing  powers,"*  and  in  this  manner  the  administration  of  the 
World  is  carried  on.  And  whatever  is  done  among  each  nation 
in  this  way  would  be  rightly  done,  wherever  it  was  agreeable  to 
the  wishes  [of  the  superintending  powers],  while  it  would  be  an 
act  of  impiety  to  get  rid  of  ^  the  institutions  established  from  the 
beginning  in  the  various  places."  By  these  words  Celsus  shows 
that  the  Jews,  who  were  formerly  Egyptians,  subsequently 
became  a  "  peculiar  people,"  and  enacted  laws  which  they  care- 
fully preserve.  And  not  to  repeat  his  statements,  which  have 
been  already  before  us,  he  says  that  it  is  advantageous  to  the 
Jews  to  observe  their  ancestral  worship,  as  other  nations  care- 
fully attend  to  theirs.  And  he  further  states  a  deeper  reason 
why  it  is  of  advantage  to  the  Jews  to  cultivate  their  ancestral 

Cf.  John  1.  1.  -  y^cii  x,circi  TO  I'TTi'^apioy  yoy-ov;  6iy.iVQi. 

^  rx,  fcspn  TYig  yr,i  II  dpxy;;  a.'Kh.u.  uT^.'Koi;  iTro-j^rcii;  vivsfi/ii/A'ja. 


294  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

customs,  in  hinting  dimly  that  those  to  ^Yhom  was  allotted  the 
office  of  superintending  the  country  which  was  being  legis- 
lated for,  enacted  the  laws  of  each  land  in  co-operation  with  its 
legislators.  He  appears,  then,  to  indicate  that  both  the  country 
of  the  Jews,  and  the  nation  which  inhabits  it,  are  superintended 
by  one  or  more  beings,  who,  whether  they  were  one  or  more, 
co-operated  with  Moses,  and  enacted  the  laws  of  the  Jews. 

Chapter  xxvi. 

"  We  must,"  he  says,  "  observe  the  laws,  not  only  because 
it  has  occurred  to  the  mind  of  others  to  decide  some  things 
differently,  but  because  it  is  a  duty  to  protect  what  has  been 
enacted  for  the  public  advantage,  and  also  because,  in  all 
probability,  the  various  quarters  of  the  earth  were  from  the 
beginning  allotted  to  different  superintending  spirits,  and  were 
distributed  among  certain  governing  powers,  and  in  this  manner 
the  administration  of  the  world  is  carried  on."  Thus  Celsus, 
as  if  he  had  forgotten  what  he  had  said  against  the  Jews, 'now 
includes  them  in  the  general  eulogy  which  he  passes  upon  all 
who  observe  their  ancestral  customs,  remarking  :  "  And  what- 
ever is  done  among  each  nation  in  this  way,  would  be  rightly 
done  whenever  agreeable  to  the  wishes  [of  the  superintendents]." 
And  observe  here,  whether  he  does  not  openly,  so  far  as  he  can, 
express  a  wish  that  the  Jew  should  live  in  the  observance  of 
his  own  laws,  and  not  depart  from  them,  because  he  would 
commit  an  act  of  impiety  if  he  apostatized ;  for  his  words  are  : 
"  It  would  be  an  act  of  impiety  to  get  rid  of  the  institutions 
established  from  the  beginning  in  the  various  places."  Now  I 
should  like  to  ask  him,  and  those  who  entertain  his  views,  who 
it  was  that  distributed  the  various  quarters  of  the  earth  from 
the  beginning  among  the  different  superintending  spirits  ;  and 
especially,  who  gave  the  country  of  the  Jews,  and  the  Jewish 
people  themselves,  to  the  one  or  more  superintendents  to  whom 
it  was  allotted  *?  Was  it,  as  Celsus  would  say,  Jupiter  who 
assigned  the  Jewish  people  and  their  country  to  a  certain  spirit 
or  spirits?  And  was  it  Ids  wish,  to  whom  they  were  thus 
assigned,  to  enact  among  them  the  laws  which  prevail,  or  was 
it  against  his  will  that  it,  was  done  ?  You  will  observe  that, 
whatever  be  his  answer,  he  is  in  a  strait.     But  if  the  various 


Book  v.]  OrJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.   ■  295 

quarters  of  the  eartli  were  not  allotted  by  some  one  being  to  the 
various  superintending  spirits,  then  each  one  at  random,  and 
witliout  the  superintendence  of  a  higher  power,  divided  the 
earth  according  to  chance  ;  and  yet  such  a  view  is  absurd,  and 
destructive  in  no  small  degree  of  the  providence  of  the  God 
who  presides  over  all  things. 

Chapter  xxvii. 

Any  one,  indeed,  who  chooses,  may  relate  how  the  various 
quarters  of  the  earth,  being  distributed  among  certain  governing 
powers,  are  administered  by  those  who  superintend  them  ;  but 
let  him  tell  us  also  how  what  is  done  amono;  each  nation  is 
done  rightly  when  agreeable  to  the  wishes  of  the  superin- 
/tendents.  Let  him,  for  example,  tell  us  whether  the  laws  of 
'  the  Scythians,  which  permit  the  murder  of  parents,  are  right 
laws ;  or  those  of  the  Persians,  which  do  not  forbid  the  mar- 
riages of  sons  with  their  mothers,  or  of  daughters  with  their 
own  fathers.  But  what  need  is  there  for  me  to  make  selections 
from  those  who  have  been  engaged  in  the  business  of  enacting 
laws  among  the  different  nations,  and  to  inquire  how  the  laws 
are  rightly  enacted  among  each,  according  as  they  please  the 
superintending  powers?  Let  Celsus,  howevei',  tell  us  how  it 
would  be  an  act  of  impiety  to  get  rid  of  those  ancestral  laws 
which  permit  the  marriages  of  mothers  and  daughters;  or 
which  pronounce  a  man  happy  who  puts  an  end  to  his  life  by 
hanging,  or  declare  that  they  undergo  entire  purification  who 
deliver  themselves  over  to  the  fire,  and  who  terminate  their 
existence  by  fire ;  and  how  it  is  an  act  of  impiety  to  do  away 
with  those  laws  which,  for  example,  prevail  in  the  Tauric 
Chersonese,  regarding  the  offering  up  of  strangers  in  sacrifice 
to  Diana,  or  among  certain  of  the  Libyan  tribes  regarding  the 
sacrifice  of  chikli'en  to  Saturn.  Moreover,  this  inference  fol- 
lows from  the  dictum  of  Celsus,  that  it  is  an  act  of  impiety  on 
the  part  of  the  Jews  to  do  away  with  those  ancestral  laws 
which  forbid  the  worship  of  any  other  deity  than  the  Creator  of 
all  things.  And  it  will  follow,  according  to  his  view,  that  piety 
is  not  divine  by  its  own  nature,  but  by  a  certain  [external] 
arrangement  and  appointment.  For  it  is  an  act  of  piety  among 
certain  tribes  to  worship  a  crocodile,  and   to  eat  what  is  an 


296  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

object  of  adoration  among  other  tribes  ;  while,  again,  with  others 
it  is  a  pious  act  to  worship  a  calf,  and  among  others,  again,  to 
regard  the  goat  as  a  god.  And,  in  this  way,  the  same  indi- 
vidual will  be  regarded  as  acting  piously  according  to  one  set 
of  laws,  and  impiously  according  to  another ;  and  this  is  the 
most  absurd  result  that  can  be  conceived ! 

Chapter  xxviii. 

It  is  probable,  however,  that  to  such  remarks  as  the  above, 
the  answer  returned  would  be,  that  he  was  pious  who  kept  the 
laws  of  his  oion  country,  and  not  at  all  chargeable  with  impiety 
for  the  non-observance  of  those  of  other  lands;  and  that,  again, 
he  who  was  deemed  guilty  of  impiety  among  certain  nations 
was  not  really  so,  when  he  worshipped  his  own  gods,  agreeably 
to  his  country's  laws,  although  he  made  war  against,  and  even 
feasted  on,^  those  who  were  regarded  as  divinities  among  those 
nations  which  possessed  laws  of  an  opposite  kind.    Now,  observe 
I  here  whether  these  statements  do  not  exhibit  the  greatest  con- 
I  fusion  of  mind  regarding  the  nature  of  what  is  just,  and  holy, 
and  religious  ;  since  there  is  no  accurate  definition  laid  down  of 
these  things,  nor  are  they  described  as  having  a  peculiar  cha- 
racter of   their  own,   and  stamping  as  religious  those  who  act 
'  according  to  their  injunctions.     If,  then,  religion,  and  piety, 
iaud  righteousness  belong  to  those  things  which  are  so  only  by 
|comparison,  so  that  the  same  act  may  be  both  pious  and  impious, 
according  to  different  relations  and  different  laws,  see  whether 
/  it  will  not  follow  that  temperance  "  also  is  a  thing  of  compari- 
I  son,  and  courage  as  well,  and  prudence,  and  the  other  virtues, 
'  than  which  nothing  could  be  more  absurd !     What  we  have 
said,  however,  is  sufficient  for  the  more  general  and  simple 
class  of  answers  to  the  allegations  of  Celsus.     But  as  we  think 
it  likely  that  some   of  those  who  are  accustomed  to   deeper 
investigation  will  fall  in  with  this  treatise,  let  us  venture  to  lay 
down  some  considerations  of  a  profounder  kind,  conveying  a 
mystical  and  secret  view  respecting  the  original  distribution  of 
the  various  quarters  of  the  earth  among  different  superintending 
spirits ;  and  let  us  prove  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  that  our 
doctrine  is  free  from  the  absurd  consequences  enumerated  above. 


Book  v.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  297 

Chapter  xxix. 

It  appears  to  me,  indeed,  that  Celsus  has  misundei'stood  some 
of  the  deeper  reasons  rehiting  to  the  arrangement  of  terrestrial 
affairs,  some  of  which  are  touched  upon^  even  in  Grecian  his- 
tory, when  certain  of  those  who  are  considered  to  be  gods  are 
introduced  as  having  contended  with  each  other  about  the 
possession  of  Attica ;  while  in  the  writings  of  the  Greek  poets 
also,  some  who  are  called  gods  are  represented  as  acknowledging 
that  certain  places  here  are  preferred  by  them  -  before  others. 
The  history  of  barbarian  nations,  moreover,  and  especially  that 
of  Egypt,  contains  some  such  allusions  to  the  division  of  the 
so-called  Egyptian  nomes,  when  it  states  that  Athena,  who 
obtained  Sais  by  lot,  is  the  same  who  also  has  possession  of 
Attica.  And  the  learned  among  the  Egyptians  can  enumerate 
innumerable  instances  of  this  kind,  although  I  do  not  know 
whether  they  include  the  Jews  and  their  country  in  this 
division.  And  now,  so  far  as  testimonies  outside  the  word  of 
God  bearing  on  this  point  are  concerned,  enough  have  been 
adduced  for  the  present.  Yv^e  say,  moreover,  that  our  prophet 
of  God  and  His  genuine  servant  Moses,  in  his  song  in  the  book 
of  Deuteronomy,  makes  a  statement  regarding  the  portioning 
out  of  the  earth  in  the  following  terms  :  "  When  the  Most 
High  divided  the  nations,  when  He  dispersed  the  sons  of  Adam, 
He  set  the  bounds  of  the  people  according  to  the  number  of  the 
angels  of  God  ;  and  the  Lord's  portion  was  His  people  Jacob, 
and  Israel  the  cord  of  His  inheritance."  ^  And  resjardinn;  the 
distribution  of  the  nations,  the  same  Moses,  in  his  work  entitled 
Genesis,  thus  expresses  himself  in  the  style  of  a  historical 
narrative  :  '•'  And  the  whole  earth  was  of  one  language  and 
of  one  speech ;  and  it  came  to  pass,  as  they  journeyed  from 
the  east,  that  they  found  a  plain  in  the  land  of  Shinar,  and 
they  dwelt  there."  ^  A  little  further  on  he  continues  :  "  And 
the  Lord  came  down  to  see  the  city  and  the  tower,  which  the 
children  of  men  had  built.  And  the  Lord  said,  Behold,  the 
people  is  one,  and  they  have  all  one  language  ;  and  this  they 
have  begun  to  do  :  and  now  nothing  will  be  restrained  from 

^    £(p«Tr£T«;.  -     CiKSlOTipOV:. 

3  Cf.  Deut.  xxxii.  8,  9  (LXX.).  "^  Cf.  Gen.  xi.  1,  2. 


298  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

them  \Yliicli  they  have  imagined  to  do.  Go  to,  let  us  go  down, 
and  there  confound  their  language,  that  they  may  not  under- 
stand one  another's  speech.  And  the  Lord  scattered  them 
abroad  from  thence  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth  :  and  they 
left  off  to  build  the  city  and  the  tower.  Therefore  is  the 
name  of  it  called  Confusion  ;  ^  because  the  Lord  did  there 
confound  the  language  of  all  the  earth  :  and  from  thence  did 
the  Lord  scatter  them  abroad  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth."  ^ 
In  the  treatise  of  Solomon,  moreover,  on  "  Wisdom,"  and  on 
the  events  at  the  time  of  the  confusion  of  languages,  when  the 
division  of  the  earth  took  place,  we  find  the  following  regard- 
ing Wisdom  :  '•  Moreover,  the  nations  in  their  wicked  con- 
spiracy being  confounded,  she  found  out  the  righteous,  and 
preserved  him  blameless  unto  God,  and  kept  him  strong  in  his 
tender  compassion  towards  his  son."  ^  But  on  these  subjects 
much,  and  that  of  a  mystical  kind,  might  be  said ;  in  keeping 
with  which  is  the  following :  ^'  It  is  good  to  keep  close  the 
secret  of  a  king,"  ^ — in  order  that  the  doctrine  of  the  entrance 
of  souls  into  bodies  (not,  however,  that  of  the  transmigration 
from  one  body  into  another)  may  not  be  thrown  before  the 
common  understanding,  nor  what  is  holy  given  to  the  dogs, 
nor  pearls  be  cast  before  swine.  For  such  a  procedure  would 
be  impious,  being  equivalent  to  a  betrayal  of  the  mysterious 
declarations  of  God's  wisdom,  of  which  it  has  been  well  said : 
"  Into  a  malicious  soul  wisdom  shall  not  enter,  nor  dwell  in  a 
body  subject  to  sin."  ^  It  is  sufficient,  however,  to  represent 
in  the  style  of  a  historic  narrative  what  is  intended  to  convey 
a  secret  meaning  in  the  garb  of  history,  that  those  who  have 
the  capacity  may  work  out  for  themselves  all  that  relates  to  the 
subject. 

Chapter  xxx. 

[The  narrative,  then,  may  be  understood  as  follows.]  All 
the  people  upon  the  earth  are  to  be  regarded  as  having  used 
one  divine  language,  and  so  long  as  they  lived  harmoniously 
together  were  preserved  in  the  use  of  this  divine  language  , 
and  they  remained  without  moving  from  the  east  so  long  as 

^  ovyxva:?.  2  cf.  Gen.  xi.  5-9.  3  Cf.  Wisd.  of  Sol.  x.  5. 

*  Cf .  Tobit  xu.  7.  «  Cf.  Wisd.  of  Sol.  i.  4. 


Book  v.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  299 

they  were  imbued  with  the  sentiments  of  the  "  light,"  and  of 
the  "reflection"  of  the  eternal  light.-^  But  when  they  departed 
from  the  east,  and  began  to  entertain  sentiments  alien  to  those 
of  the  east,"  they  found  a  place  in  the  land  of  Shinar  (which, 
when  interpreted,  means  "gnashing  of  teeth,"  by  way  of  indi- 
cating symbolically  that  they  had  lost  the  means  of  their  sup- 
port), and  in  it  they  took  up  their  abode.  Then,  desiring  to 
gather  together  material  things,^  and  to  join  to  heaven  what 
had  no  natural  affinity  for  it,  that  by  means  of  material  things 
they  might  conspire  against  such  as  were  immaterial,  they  said, 
"  Come,  let  us  make  bricks,  and  burn  them  with  fire."  Accord- 
ingly, when  they  had  hardened  and  compacted  these  materials 
of  clay  and  matter,  and  had  shown  their  desire  to  make  brick 
into  stone,  and  clay  into  bitumen,  and  by  these  means  to  build 
a  city  and  a  tower,  the  head  of  which  was,  at  least  in  their  con- 
ception, to  reach  up  to  the  heavens,  after  the  manner  of  the 
"  hio;h  thincTS  which  exalt  themselves  against  the  knowledn;e  of 
God,"  each  one  Avas  handed  over  (in  proportion  to  the  greater 
or  less  departure  from  the  east  which  had  taken  place  among 
them,  and  in  proportion  to  the  extent  in  which  bricks  had  been 
converted  into  stones,  and  clay  into  bitumen,  and  building 
carried  on  out  of  these  materials)  to  angels  of  character  more 
or  less  severe,  and  of  a  nature  more  or  less  stern,  until  they 
had  paid  the  penalty  of  their  daring  deeds ;  and  they  were 
conducted  by  those  angels,  who  imprinted  on  each  his  native 
language,  to  the  different  parts  of  the  earth  according  to  their 
deserts :  some,  for  example,  to  a  region  of  burning  iieat, 
others  to  a  country  which  chastises  its  inhabitants  by  its  cold  ; 
others,  again,  to  a  land  exceedingly  difficult  of  cultivation, 
others  to  one  less  so  in  degree  :  while  a  fifth  were  brought  into 
a  land  filled  with  wild  beasts,  and  a  sixth  to  a  country  com- 
paratively free  of  these. 

CHArTER   XXXI. 

Now,  in  the  next  place,  if  any  one  has  the  capacity,  let  him 
understand  that  in  what  assumes  the  form  of  history,  and  which 
contains  some  things  that  are  literally  true,  while  yet  it  conveys 

^  l;  oaov  ilal  roe,  zov  (paro;  kci\  roll  utto  (pa-6;  ai'B/on  0.7: civy a.n y.a.TO-;  (pco- 
vtiuimc.  ^  oiXKoTpioc,  d.uoe.TO'Kuu  (ppoyovvrsg.  ^  ~»  t'^j  tiXjij-. 


300  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

a  deeper  meaning,  those  who  preserved  their  original  language 
continued,  by  reason  of  their  not  having  migrated  from  the 
east,  in  possession  of  the  east,  and  of  their  eastern  language. 
And  let  him  notice,  that  these  alone  became  the  portion  of  the 
Lord,  and  His  people  who  were  called  Jacob,  and  Israel  the 
cord  of  His  inheritance ;  and  these  alone  were  governed  by  a 
ruler  who  did  not  receive  those  who  were  placed  under  him 
for  the  purpose  of  punishment,  as  was  the  case  with  the  others. 
Let  him  also,  who  has  the  capacity  to  perceive  as  far  as  mortals 
may,  observe  that  in  the  body  politic^  of  those  who  were 
assigned  to  the  Lord  as  His  pre-eminent  portion,  sins  were 
committed,  first  of  all,  such  as  might  be  forgiven,  and  of 
such  a  nature  as  not  to  make  the  sinner  worthy  of  entire 
desertion,  while  subsequently  they  became  more  numerous, 
though  still  of  a  nature  to  be  pardoned.  And  while  remarking 
that  this  state  of  matters  continued  for  a  considerable  time, 
and  that  a  remedy  was  always  applied,  and  that  after  certain 
intervals  these  persons  returned  to  their  duty,  let  him  notice 
that  they  were  given  over,  in  proportion  to  their  transgressions, 
to  those  to  whom  had  been  assigned  the  other  quarters  of  the 
earth  ;  and  that,  after  being  at  first  slightly  punished,  and 
having  made  atonement,^  they  returned,  as  if  they  had  under- 
gone discipline,^  to  their  proper  habitations.  Let  him  notice  also 
that  afterwards  they  were  delivered  over  to  rulers  of  a  severer 
character — to  Assyrians  and  Babylonians,  as  the  Scriptures 
would  call  them.  Li  the  next  place,  notwithstanding  that 
means  of  healing  were  being  applied,  let  him  observe  that  they 
were  still  multiplying  their  transgressions,  and  that  they  were 
on  that  account  dispersed  into  other  regions  by  the  rulers  of 
the  nations  that  oppressed  them.  And  their  own  ruler  inten- 
tionally overlooked  their  oppi'ession  at  the  hands  of  the  rulers 
of  the  other  nations,  in  order  that  he  also  with  good  reason,  as 
avenging  himself,  having  obtained  power  to  tear  away  from 
the  other  nations  as  many  as  he  can,  may  do  so,  and  enact  for 
them  laws,  and  point  out  a  manner  of  life  agreeably  to  which 
they  ought  to  live,  that  so  he  may  conduct  them  to  the  end  to 
which  those  of  the  former  people  were  conducted  who  did  not 
commit  sin. 


Book  v.]  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  301 

Chapter  xxxii. 

And  by  this  means  let  those  who  have  the  capacity  of  com- 
prehending truths  so  profound,  learn  that  he  to  whom  were 
allotted  those  who  had  not  formerly  sinned  is  far  more  power- 
ful than  the  others,  since  he  has  been  able  to  make  a  selection 
of  individuals  from  the  portion  of  the  whole,^  and  to  separate 
them  from  those  who  received  them  for  the  purpose  of  punish- 
ment, and  to  bring  them  under  the  influence  of  laws,  and  of  a 
mode  of  life  which  helps  to  produce  an  oblivion  of  their  former 
transgressions.  But,  as  we  have  previously  observed,  these 
remarks  are  to  be  understood  as  being  made  by  us  with  a  con- 
cealed meaning,  by  way  of  pointing  out  the  mistakes  of  those 
who  asserted  that  "  the  various  quarters  of  the  earth  were  from 
the  beginning  distributed  among  different  superintending  spirits, 
and  being  allotted  among  certain  governing  powers,  were  ad- 
ministered in  this  way  ;"  from  which  statement  Celsus  took 
occasion  to  make  the  remarks  referred  to.  But  since  those  who 
wandered  away  from  the  east  were  delivered  over,  on  account 
of  their  sins,  to  "  a  reprobate  mind,"  and  to  "  vile  affections," 
and  to  "uncleanness  through  the  lusts  of  their  own  hearts,"- 
in  order  that,  being  sated  with  sin,  they  might  hate  it,  we  shall 
refuse  our  assent  to  the  assertion  of  Celsus,  that  '"'because  of 
the  superintending  spirits  distributed  among  the  different  parts 
of  the  earth,  what  is  done  among  each  nation  is  rightly  done ; " 
for  our  desire  is  to  do  what  is  not  agreeable  to  these  spirits.^ 
For  we  see  that  it  is  a  religious  act  to  do  away  with  the  cus- 
toms originally  established  in  the  various  places  by  means  of 
laws  of  a  better  and  more  divine  character,  which  were  enacted 
by  Jesus,  as  one  possessed  of  the  greatest  power,  who  has  res- 
cued us  "  from  the  present  evil  world,"  and  "  from  the  princes 
of  the  world  that  come  to  nought;"  and  that  it  is  a  mark  of 
irreligion  not  to  throw  ourselves  at  the  feet  of  Him  who  has 
manifested  Himself  to  be  holier  and  more  powerful  than  all 
other  rulers,  and  to  whom  God  said,  as  the  prophets  many 
generations  before  predicted  :  "Ask  of  me,  and  I  shall  give  Thee 
the  heathen  for  Thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of 

^  MTro  rvi;  crdivruv  fnploo;.  "  Cf.  Rom.  i.  21,  2G,  28. 

^  esAAat  KXi  fiovXo/^idx,  ov-/,  o—y)  fi  iKilyoi;  (fiMv,  'xotiiu  too  iKiivau. 


302  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

the  earth  for  Thy  possession."^  For  He,  too,  has  become  the 
"  expectation"  of  us  who  from  among  the  heatlien  have  believed 
upon  Him,  and  upon  His  Father,  who  is  God  over  all  things. 

Chapter  xxxiii. 

The  remarks  which  we  have  made  not  only  answer  the 
statements  of  Celsus  regarding  the  superintending  spirits,  but 
anticipate  in  some  measure  what  he  afterwards  brings  forward, 
when  he  says :  "  Let  the  second  party  come  forward ;  and  I 
shall  ask  them  whence  they  come,  and  whom  they  regard  as  the 
originator  of  their  ancestral  customs.  They  will  reply,  No  one, 
because  they  spring  from  the  same  source  as  the  Jews  them- 
selves, and  derive  their  instruction  and  superintendence  '^  from 
no  other  quarter,  and  notwithstanding  they  have  revolted  from 
the  Jews."  Each  one  of  us,  then,  is  come  "  in  the  last  days," 
when  one  Jesus  has  visited  us,  to  the  "  visible  mountain  of 
the  Lord,"  the  Word  that  is  above  every  word,  and  to  the 
"  house  of  God,"  which  is  "  the  church  of  the  living  God,  the 
pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth."  ^  And  we  notice  how  it  is 
built  upon  "  the  tops  of  the  mountains,"  i.e.  the  predictions  of 
all  the  prophets,  which  are  its  foundations.  And  this  house 
is  exalted  above  the  hills,  i.e.  those  individuals  among  men  who 
make  a  profession  of  superior  attainments  in  wisdom  and  truth; 
and  all  the  nations  come  to  it,  and  the  "  many  nations "  go 
forth,  and  say  to  one  another,  turning  to  the  religion  which  in 
the  last  days  has  shone  forth  through  Jesus  Christ :  "  Come  ye, 
and  let  us  go  up  to  the  mountain  of  the  Lord,  to  the  house  of 
the  God  of  Jacob ;  and  He  will  teach  us  of  His  ways,  and  we 
will  walk  in  them."*  For  the  law  came  forth  from  the  dwellers 
in  Sion,  and  settled  among  us  as  a  spiritual  law.  Moreover,  the 
word  of  the  Lord  came  forth  from  that  very  Jerusalem,  that  it 
might  be  disseminated  through  all  places,  and  might  judge  in 
the  midst  of  the  heathen,  selecting  those  whom  it  sees  to  be 
submissive,  and  rejecting^  the  disobedient,  who  are  many  in 
number.  And  to  those  who  inquire  of  us  whence  we  come, 
or  who  is  our  founder,^  we  reply  that  we  are  come,  agreeably 
to  the  counsels  of  Jesus,  to  "  cut  down  our  hostile  and  inso- 

1  Ps.  ii.  8.  2  xopo<TTXTnv.  ^  Cf.  1  Tim.  iii,  15. 

*  Cf.  Isa.  ii.  3.  ^  i'KkyfcV'  *  dpxn'/irnv. 


Book  V.J  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  303 

lent  *  wordy '  ^  swords  into  ploughshares,  and  to  convert  into 
pruning-hooks  the  spears  formerly  employed  in  war."  ^  For  we 
no  longer  take  up  "sword  agahist  nation,"  nor  do  we  "learn 
war  any  more,"  having  become  children  of  peace,  for  the  sake 
of  Jesus,  who  is  our  leader,  instead  of  those  whom  our  fathers 
followed,  among  whom  we  were  "  strangers  to  the  covenant," 
and  having  received  a  law,  for  which  we  give  thanks  to  Him 
that  rescued  us  from  the  error  [of  our  ways],  saying,  "  Our 
fathers  honoured  lying  idols,  and  there  is  not  among  them  one 
that  causeth  it  to  rain."  ^  Our  Superintendent,  then,  and. 
Teacher,  having  come  forth  from  the  Jews,  regulates  the  whole 
world  by  the  word  of  His  teaching.  And  having  made  these 
remarks  by  way  of  anticipation,  we  have  refuted  as  well  as  we 
could  the  untrue  statements  of  Celsus,  by  subjoining  the 
appropriate  answer. 

Chapter  xxxiv. 

But,  that  we  may  not  pass  without  notice  what  Celsus  has 
said  between  these  and  the  preceding  paragraphs,  let  us  quote 
his  words :  "  "We  might  adduce  Herodotus  as  a  witness  on  this 
point,  for  he  expresses  himself  as  follows  :  '  For  the  people  of 
the  cities  Marea  and  Apis,  who  inhabit  those  parts  of  Egypt 
that  are  adjacent  to  Libya,  and  who  look  upon  themselves  as 
Libyans,  and  not  as  Egyptians,  finding  their  sacrificial  worship 
oppressive,  and  wishing  not  to  be  excluded  from  the  use  of 
cows'  flesh,  sent  to  the  oracle  of  Jupiter  Ammon,  saying  that 
there  was  no  relationship  between  them  and  the  Egyptians, 
that  they  dwelt  outside  the  Delta,  that  there  was  no  community 
of  sentiment  between  them  and  the  Egyptians,  and  that  they 
wished  to  be  allowed  to  partake  of  all  kinds  of  food.  But  the 
god  would  not  allow  them  to  do  as  they  desired,  saying  that  that 
country  was  a  part  of  Egypt,  which  was  watered  by  the  inun- 
dation of  the  Nile,  and  that  those  were  Egyptians  who  dwell 

^  dV/Mipxi  raj  Tiro'KifitKU.;  '/ifcoiv  "Kayiy.otg  (/.axctlpoii  xxl  viSpiffrtxct;  il; 
olporpci,  x,xi  TX;  Kxroi  to  'Trponpov  vi(^uy  (<,ce,)(,t(^<jv  ^ijouux;  si;  ZpiTzccvx  f/.i7a- 
cKivx^ouey. 

2Cf.'lsa.  ii.  4. 

^  Cf.    Jer.    xvi.   19    and   xiv.   22 ;  u;   i^sv'^ij    Ikt'/iuxuto  oi   TrocTspss  iipiuu 

ii^aTiX,  Kxl  OVK  'idTtV  iV  UVTQig  virl^aii. 


301  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

to  the  south  of  the  city  of  Elephantine,  and  drink  of  the  river 
Nile.'  ^  Such  is  the  narrative  of  Herodotus.  But,"  continues 
Celsus,  "  Amnion  in  divine  things  would  not  make  a  worse  am- 
bassador than  the  angels  of  the  Jews,"  so  that  there  is  nothing 
wronc  in  each  nation  observincp  its  established  method  of  wor- 
ship.  Of  a  truth,  we  shall  find  very  great  differences  prevailing 
among  the  nations,  and  yet  each  seems  to  deem  its  own  by  far 
the  best.  Those  inhabitants  of  Ethiopia  who  dwell  in  Meroe 
woi'ship  Jupiter  and  Bacchus  alone ;  the  Arabians,  Urania  and 
Bacchus  only ;  all  the  Egyptians,  Opus  and  Isis  ;  the  Saites, 
Minerva ;  while  the  Naucratites  have  recently  classed  Serapis 
among  their  deities,  and  the  rest  according  to  their  respective 
laws.  And  some  abstain  from  the  flesh  of  sheep,  and  others 
from  that  of  crocodiles  ;  others,  again,  from  that  of  cow^s,  while 
they  regard  swine's  flesh  with  loathing.  The  Scythians,  indeed, 
regard  it  as  a  noble  act  to  banquet  upon  human  beings.  Among 
the  Indians,  too,  there  are  some  who  deem  themselves  discharg- 
ing a  holy  duty  in  eating  their  fathers,  and  this  is  mentioned 
in  a  certain  passage  by  Herodotus.  For  the  sake  of  credibility, 
I  shall  again  quote  his  very  words,  for  he  writes  as  follows : 
'  For  if  any  one  were  to  make  this  proposal  to  all  men,  viz. 
to  bid  him  select  out  of  all  existing  laws  the  best,  each  would 
choose,  after  examination,  those  of  his  own  country.  Men 
each  consider  their  own  laws  much  the  best,  and  therefore  it 
is  not  likely  that  any  other  than  a  madman  would  make  these 
things  a  subject  of  ridicule.  But  that  such  are  the  conclusions 
of  all  men  regarding  the  laws,  may  be  determined  by  many 
other  evidences,  and  especially  by  the  following  illustration. 
Darius,  during  his  reign,  having  summoned  before  him  those 
Greeks  who  happened  to  be  present  at  the  time,  inquired  of 
them  for  how  much  they  would  be  willing  to  eat  their  deceased 
fathers ;  their  answer  was,  that  for  no  consideration  would  they 
do  such  a  thing.  After  this,  Darius  summoned  those  Indians 
who  are  called  Callatians,  who  are  in  the  habit  of  eating  their 
parents,  and  asked  of  them  in  the  presence  of  these  Greeks, 
who   learned  Avhat    passed  through  an  interpreter,  for  what 

1  Cf.  Herodot.  ii.  18. 

'  oai" Af/.y.av  ovoiv  ri  xukiuv  OiX7rpicrl3si/axi  tx  Outf^.oum,   sj   o!  'lovouiuu 


Book  V.J  OPxIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  305 

amount  of  money  they  would  undertake  to  burn  their  deceased 
fathers  with  fire ;  on  whicli  they  raised  a  loud  shout,  and  bade 
the  king  say  no  more.'  ^  Such  is  the  way,  then,  in  which  these 
matters  are  regarded.  And  Pindar  appears  to  me  to  be  right 
in  saying  that  '■  law'  is  the  king  of  all  things." ^ 

Chapter  xxxv. 

The  argument  of  Celsus  appears  to  point  by  these  illustra- 
tions to  this  conclusion :  that  it  is  "  an  obligation  incumbent  on 
all  men  to  live  according  to  their  country's  customs,  in  which 
case  they  will  escape  censure;  whereas  the  Christians,  who  have 
abandoned  their  native  usages,  and  who  are  not  one  nation 
like  the  Jews,  are  to  be  blamed  for  giving  their  adherence  to 
the  teaching  of  Jesus."  Let  him  then  tell  us  whether  it  is  a 
becoming  thing  for  philosophers,  and  those  who  have  been 
taught  not  to  yield  to  superstition,  to  abandon  their  country's 
customs,  so  as  to  eat  of  those  articles  of  food  which  are  pro- 
hibited in  their  respective  cities  ?  or  whether  this  proceeding 
of  theirs  is  opposed  to  what  is  becoming  ?  For  if,  on  account 
of  their  philosophy,  and  the  instructions  which  they  have  re- 
ceived against  superstition,  they  should  eat,  in  disregard  of 
their  native  laws,  what  was  interdicted  by  their  fathers,  why 
should  the  Christians  (since  the  gospel  requires  them  not  to 
busy  themselves  about  statues  and  images,  or  even  about  any  of 
the  created  works  of  God,  but  to  ascend  on  high,  and  present 
the  soul  to  the  Creator),  when  acting  in  a  similar  manner  to 
the  philosophers,  be  censured  for  so  doing  ?  But  if,  for  the 
sake  of  defending  the  theses  which  he  has  proposed  to  himself, 
Celsus,  or  those  who  think  with  him,  should  say,  that  even  one 
who  had  studied  philosophy  would  keep  his  country's  laws,  then 
philosophers  in  Egypt,  for  example,  would  act  most  ridiculously 
in  avoiding  the  eating  of  onions,  in  order  to  observe  their 
country's  laws,  or  certain  parts  of  the  body,  as  the  head  and 
shoulders,  in  order  not  to  transgress  the  traditions  of  their 
fathers.  And  I  do  not  speak  of  those  Egyptians  who  shudder 
with  fear  at  the  discharge  of  wind  from  the  body,  because  if 
any  one  of  these  were  to  become  a  philosopher,  and  still  observe 
the  laws  of  his  country,  he  would  be  a  ridiculous  philosopher, 
^  iv(p-/i(/.ih  fiiv  syJT^svov.  2  (jf,  jJerodot.  iii.  38. 

OEIG. — VOL.  II.  U 


306  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

acting  very  unphilosophically.-^  In  the  same  way,  then,  he  who 
has  been  led  by  the  gospel  to  worship  the  God  of  all  things,  and, 
from  regard  to  his  country's  laws,  lingers  here  below  among 
images  and  statues  of  men,  and  does  not  desire  to  ascend  to  the 
Creator,  will  resemble  those  who  have  indeed  learned  philo- 
sophy, but  who  are  afraid  of  things  which  ought  to  inspire  no 
terrors,  and  who  regard  it  as  an  act  of  impiety  to  eat  of  those 
things  which  have  been  enumerated. 

Chapter  xxxvi. 

But  what  sort  of  being  is  this  Ammon  of  Herodotus,  whose 
words  Celsus  has  quoted,  as  if  by  way  of  demonstrating  how 
each  one  ought  to  keep  his  country's  laws  ?  For  this  Ammon 
would  not  allow  the  people  of  the  cities  of  Marea  and  Apis, 
who  inhabit  the  districts  adjacent  to  Libya,  to  treat  as  a  matter 
of  indifference  the  use  of  cows'  flesh,  which  is  a  thing  not  only 
indifferent  in  its  own  nature,  but  which  does  not  prevent  a  man 
from  being  noble  and  virtuous.  If  Ammon,  then,  forbade 
the  use  of  cows'  flesh,  because  of  the  advantage  which  results 
from  the  use  of  the  animal  in  the  cultivation  of  the  ground, 
and  in  addition  to  this,  because  it  is  by  the  female  that  the 
breed  is  increased,  the  account  would  possess  more  plausibility. 
But  now  he  simply  requires  that  those  who  drink  of  the  Nile 
should  observe  the  laws  of  the  Egyptians  regarding  kine. 
And  hereupon  Celsus,  taking  occasion  to  pass  a  jest  upon  the 
employment  of  the  angels  among  the  Jews  as  the  ambassadors 
of  God,  says  that  "Ammon  did  not  make  a  worse  ambassador 
of  divine  things  than  did  the  angels  of  the  Jews,"  into  the 
meaning  of  whose  words  and  manifestations  he  instituted  no 
investigation  ;  otherwise  he  would  have  seen,  that  it  is  not  for 
oxen  that  God  is  concerned,  even  where  He  may  appear  to 
legislate  for  them,  or  for  irrational  animals,  but  that  what  is 
written  for  the  sake  of  men,  under  the  appearance  of  relating 
to  irrational  animals,  contains  certain  truths  of  nature.^  Celsus, 
moreover,  says  that  no  wrong  is  committed  by  any  one  who 
wishes  to  observe  the  religious  worship  sanctioned  by  the  laws 
of  his  country ;  and  it  follows,  according  to  his  view,  that  the 
Scythians  commit  no  wrong,  when,  in  conformity  with  their 

^  ytMios  »u  ii'vi  ^t'h6aci(poi  dCpiXCaoipix,  -zpetTTUu.  ^  (pvaio'Ko'/ixv. 


Book  v.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  307 

country's  laws,  they  eat  human  beings.  And  those  Indians 
who  eat  their  own  fathers  are  considered,  according  to  Celsus,  )(^ 
to  do  a  religious,  or  at  least  not  a  wicked  act.  He  adduces, 
indeed,  a  statement  of  Herodotus  which  favours  the  principle 
that  each  one  ought,  from  a  sense  of  what  is  becoming,  to  obey 
liis  country's  laws ;  and  he  appears  to  approve  of  the  custom 
of  those  Indians  called  Callatians,  who  in  the  time  of  Darius 
devoured  their  parents,  since,  on  Darius  inquiring  for  how 
great  a  sum  of  money  they  would  be  willing  to  lay  aside  this 
usage,  they  raised  a  loud  shout,  and  bade  the  king  say  no  more. 

Chapter  xxxvii. 

As  there  are,  then,  generally  two  laws  presented  to  us, 
the  one  being  the  law  of  nature,  of  which  God  would  be  the 
legislator,  and  the  other  being  the  written  law  of  cities,  it  is  a 
proper  thing,  when  the  written  law  is  not  opposed  to  that  of 
God,  for  the  citizens  not  to  abandon  it  under  pretext  of  foreign 
customs ;  but  when  the  law  of  nature,  that  is,  the  law  of  God, 
commands  what  is  opposed  to  the  written  law,  observe  whether 
reason  Avill  not  tell  us  to  bid  a  long  farewell  to  the  written  code, 
and  to  the  desire  of  its  legislators,  and  to  give  ourselves  up  to 
the  legislator  God,  and  to  choose  a  life  agreeable  to  His  word, 
although  in  doing  so  it  may  be  necessary  to  encounter  dangers, 
and  countless  labours,  and  even  death  and  dishonour.  For 
when  there  are  some  laws  in  harmony  with  the  will  of  God, 
which  are  opposed  to  others  which  are  in  force  in  cities,  and 
W'heu  it  is  impracticable  to  please  God  (and  those  wdio  admi- 
nister laws  of  the  kind  referred  to),  it  would  be  absurd  to 
contemn  those  acts  by  means  of  which  we  may  please  the 
Creator  of  all  things,  and  to  select  those  by  which  we  shall 
become  displeasing  to  God,  though  we  may  satisfy  unholy  laws, 
and  those  who  love  tliem.  But  since  it  is  reasonable  in  other 
matters  to  prefer  the  law  of  nature,  which  is  the  law  of  God, 
before  the  written  law,  which  has  been  enacted  by  men  in  a 
spirit  of  opposition  to  the  law  of  God,  why  should  we  not  do 
this  still  more  in  the  case  of  those  laws  which  relate  to  God  ? 
Neither  shall  we,  like  the  Ethiopians  who  inhabit  the  parts 
about  Meroe,  worship,  as  is  their  pleasure,  Jupiter  and  Bacchus 
only ;   nor  shall  we  at  all   reverence  Ethiopian  gods  in  the 


308  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

Etliiopian  manner ;  nor,  like  the  Arabians,  shall  we  regard 
Urania  and  Bacchus  alone  as  divinities ;  nor  in  any  degree  at 
all  deities  in  which  the  difference  of  sex  has  been  a  ground 
of  distinction  (as  among  the  Arabians,  who  worship  Urania  as  a 
female,  and  Bacchus  as  a  male  deity) ;  nor  shall  we,  like  all  the 
Egyptians,  regard  Osiris  and  Isis  as  gods ;  nor  shall  we  enu- 
merate Athena  among  these,  as  the  Saites  are  pleased  to  do. 
And  if  to  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Naucratis  it  seemed  good  to 
worship  other  divinities,  while  their  modern  descendants  have 
begun  quite  recently  to  pay  reverence  to  Serapis,  who  never  was 
a  god  at  all,  we  shall  not  on  that  account  assert  that  a  new  being 
who  was  not  formerly  a  god,  nor  at  all  known  to  men,  is  a  deity. 
For  the  Son  of  God,  "  the  First-born  of  all  creation,"  although 
He  seemed  recently  to  have  become  incarnate,  is  not  by  any 
means  on  that  account  recent.  For  the  Holy  Scriptures  know 
Him  to  be  the  most  ancient  of  all  the  works  of  creation  ;^  for 
it  was  to  Him  that  God  said  regarding  the  creation  of  man, 
"Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after  our  likeness."^ 

Chapter  xxxviii. 

I  wish,  however,  to  show  how  Celsus  asserts  without  any  good 
reason,  that  each  one  reveres  his  domestic  and  native  institu- 
tions. For  he  declares  that  "  those  Ethiopians  who  inhabit 
Meroe  know  only  of  two  gods,  Jupiter  and  Bacchus,  and 
worship  these  alone  ;  and  that  the  Arabians  also  know  only  of 
two,  viz.  Bacchus,  who  is  also  an  Ethiopian  deity,  and  Urania, 
whose  worship  is  confined  to  them."  According  to  his  account, 
neither  do  the  Ethiopians  worship  Urania,  nor  the  Arabians 
Jupiter.  If,  then,  an  Ethiopian  were  from  any  accident  to 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Arabians,  and  were  to  be  judged 
guilty  of  impiety  because  he  did  not  worship  Urania,  and  for 
this  reason  should  incur  the  danger  of  death,  would  it  be 
proper  for  the  Ethiopian  to  die,  or  to  act  contrary  to  his 
country's  laws,  and  do  t)beisancc  to  Urania  ?  Now,  if  it  would 
be  proper  for  him  to  act  contrary  to  the  laws  of  hia  country, 
he  will  do  what  is  not  right,  so  far  as  the  language  of  Celsus  is 
any  standard ;  while,  if  he  should  be  led  away  to  death,  let  him 
show  the  reasonableness  of  selecting  such  a  fate.     I  know  not 

^   Tirpsufii'-rciTOU  Trcivniy  -vuv  Oyjju.iovpyriU.xTCj'j.  ^  Cf.  Geil.  i.  26. 


Book  v.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  309 

whether,  if  the  Ethiopian  doctrine  taught  men  to  philosophize 
on  the  immortahty  of  the  soul,  and  the  honour  which  is  paid  to 
religion,  they  would  reverence  those  as  deities  who  are  deemed 
to  be  such  by  the  laws  of  the  country.^  A  similar  illustration 
may  be  employed  in  the  case  of  the  Arabians,  if  from  any 
accident  they  happened  to  visit  the  Ethiopians  about  Meroe. 
For,  having  been  taught  to  worship  Urania  and  Bacchus  alone, 
they  will  not  worship  Jupiter  along  with  the  Ethiopians ;  and 
if,  adjudged  guilty  of  impiety,  they  should  be  led  away  to  death, 
let  Celsus  tell  us  what  it  would  be  reasonable  on  their  part  to 
do.  And  with  regard  to  the  fables  which  relate  to  Osiris  and 
Isis,  it  is  superfluous  and  out  of  place  at  present  to  enumerate 
them.  For  although  an  allegorical  meaning  may  be  given  to  the 
fables,  they  will  nevertheless  teach  us  to  offer  divine  worship  to 
cold  water,  and  to  the  earth,  which  is  subject  to  men,  and  all 
the  animal  creation.  For  in  this  way,  I  presume,  they  refer 
Osiris  to  water,  and  Isis  to  earth  ;  while  with  regard  to  Serapis 
the  accounts  are  numerous  and  conflicting,  to  the  effect  that 
very  recently  he  appeared  in  public,  agreeably  to  certain  jug- 
gling tricks  performed  at  the  desire  of  Ptolemy,  who  wished 
to  show  to  the  people  of  Alexandria  as  it  were  a  visible  god. 
And  we  have  read  in  the  writings  of  Numenius  the  Pytha- 
gorean regarding  his  formction,  that  he  partakes  of  the  essence 
of  all  the  animals  and  plants  that  are  under  the  control  of 
nature,  that  he  may  appear  to  have  been  fashioned  into  a  god, 
not  by  the  makers  of  images  alone,  with  the  aid  of  profane 
mysteries,  and  juggling  tricks  employed  to  invoke  demons,  but 
also  by  magicians  and  sorcerers,  and  those  demons  who  are 
bewitched  by  their  incantations.' 

Chapter  xxxix. 

A\  e  must  therefore  inquire  what  may  be  fittingly  eaten  or 
not  by  the  rational  and  gentle^  animal,  which  acts  always  in 

1  This  sentence  is  regarded  by  Quietus  as  an  interpolation,  •Rliich  should 
be  struck  out  of  the  text. 

"  ivu.  oo^'jj  fiiTci  Tuv  dn'hiaruv  n'hiru'j,  y-ctt  roiv  x.ot.>.ovuZ'j  Occi'y.oi/x; 
uxy/aviiuv,    ov'/>  ^~^    oe.yx'Kf/.ci-ro'iToiZu   f^os/uv    y.!X.~ix,(jy.ivot.^i(j6xi    6io;,    d'k'hcc. 


310  OPdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Boon  v. 

conformity  -with  reason  ;  and, not  worship  at  random,  sheep,  or 
goats,  or  kine  ;  to  abstain  from  which  is  an  act  of  modei'ation,^ 
for  much  advantage  is  derived  by  men  from  these  animals. 
Whereas,  is  it  not  the  most  foolish  of  all  things  to  spare  croco- 
diles, and  to  treat  them  as  sacred  to  some  fabulous  divinity  or 
other  ?      For  it  is  a  mark  of  exceeding  stupidity  to  spare  those 
animals  which  do  not  spare  us,  and  to  bestow  care  on  those  which 
make  a  prey  of  human  beings.     But  Celsus  approves  of  those 
who,  in  keeping  with  the  laws  of  their  country,  worship  and 
tend  crocodiles,  and  not  a  word  does  he  say  against  them,  while 
the   Christians   appear  deserving  of  censure,   who  have  been 
taught  to  loath  evil,  and  to  turn  away  from  wicked  works,  and 
to  reverence  and  honour  virtue  as  being  generated   by  God, 
and  as  being  His  Son.     For  we  must  not,  on  account  of  their 
feminine  name  and  nature,  regard  wisdom  and  righteousness  as 
j  females  ;^  for  these  things  are  in  our  view  the  Son  of  God,  as 
'  His  genuine  disciple  has  shown,  when  he  said  of  Him,  "  Who 
of  God  is  made  to  us  wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and  sanctifi- 
cation,  and  redemption."^      And  although  we  may  call  Him  a 
"second"  God,  let  men  know  that  by  the  term  "second  God" 
I  we  mean  nothing  else  than  a  virtue  capable  of  including  all 
!  other  virtues,  and  a  reason  capable  of  containing  all  reason  what- 
/  soever  which  exists  in  all  things,  which  have  arisen  naturally, 
directly,  and  for  the  general  advantage,  and  which  "'reason," 
I  we  say,  dwelt  in  the  soul  of  Jesus,  and  was  united  to  Him  in 
i  a  defiree  far  above  all  other  souls,  seeino;  He  alone  was  enabled 
'  completely  to  receive  the  highest  share  in  the  absolute  reason, 
and  the  absolute  wisdom,  and  the  absolute  righteousness. 

Chapter  xl. 

But  since,  after  Celsus  had  spoken  to  the  above  effect  of  the 
different  kinds  of  laws,  he  adds  the  following  remark,  "Pindar 
appears  to  me  to  be  correct  in  saying  that  law  is  king  of  all 
thinfTs,"  let  us  proceed  to  discuss  this  assertion.  What  law  do 
you  mean  to  say,  good  sir,  is  "  king  of  all  things  ?  "      If  you 

^  yArpiov. 

-  c-j  yxp  Tnxpx  to  6r^vx.ou  ouo(.<.oc,  y.u\  rf,   ovaici  &7fhiioi,'j  vrj[/,i(jTiov  nvoti  THiu 

CO^lOiUj   KCil  TYl'J   QlKXIOrj'JVfi'J. 

3  Cf.  1  Cor.  i.  30. 


Book  v. J  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  311 

mean  those  which  exist  in  the  various  cities,  then  such  an  asser- 
tion is  not  true.  For  all  men  are  not  governed  by  the  same 
law.  You  ought  to  have  said  that  "  laws  are  kings  of  all  men," 
for  in  every  nation  some  law  is  king  of  all.  But  if  you  mean 
that  which  is  law  in  the  proper  sense,  then  it  is  this  which 
is  by  nature  "king  of  all  things;"  although  there  are  some 
individuals  who,  having  like  robbers  abandoned  the  law,  deny 
its  validity,  and  live  lives  of  violence  and  injustice.  We 
Christians,  then,  who  have  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  law 
which  is  by  nature  "king  of  all  things,"  and  which  is  the  same 
with  the  law  of  God,  endeavour  to  regulate  our  lives  by  its 
prescriptions,  having  bidden  a  long  farewell  to  those  of  an  un- 
holy kind. 

Chapter  xli. 

Let  us  notice  the  charges  which  are  next  advanced  by  Celsus, 
in  which  there  is  exceedingly  little  that  has  reference  to  the 
Christians,  as  most  of  them  refer  to  the  Jews.  His  words  are : 
"  If,  then,  in  these  respects  the  Jews  were  carefully  to  pre- 
serve their  own  law,  they  are  not  to  be  blamed  for  so  doing, 
but  those  persons  rather  who  have  forsaken  their  own  usages, 
and  adopted  those  of  the  Jews.  And  if  they  pride  themselves 
on  it,  as  being  possessed  of  superior  wisdom,  and  keep  aloof 
from  intercourse  with  others,  as  not  being  equally  pure  with 
themselves,  they  have  already  heard  that  their  doctrine  con- 
cerning heaven  is  not  peculiar  to  them,  but,  to  pass  by  all 
others,  is  one  M'hich  has  long  ago  been  received  by  the  Persians, 
as  Herodotus  somewhere  mentions.  ^  For  they  have  a  custom,' 
he  says,  '  of  going  up  to  the  tops  of  the  mountains,  and  of 
offering  sacrifices  to  Jupiter,  giving  the  name  of  Jupiter  to 
the  whole  circle  of  the  heavens.'^  And  I  think,"  continues 
Celsus,  "that  it  makes  no  difference  whether  you  call  the 
highest  being  Zeus,  or  Zen,  or  Adonai,  or  Sabaoth,  or  Am- 
moun  like  the  Egyptians,  or  Pappasus  like  the  Scythians. 
Nor  would  they  be  deemed  at  all  holier  than  others  in  this 
respect,  that  they  observe  the  rite  of  circumcision,  for  this  was 
done  by  the  Egyptians  and  Colchians  before  them  ;  nor  because 
they  abstain  from  swine's  flesh,  for  the  Egyptians  practised 
1  Cf.  Herodot.  i.  135. 


3 1 2  OPJGEN  A  GA INST  CELS US.  [Book  v. 

abstinence  not  only  from  it,  but  from  tbe  flesh  of  goats,  and 
sheep,  and  oxen,  and  fishes  as  well ;  while  Pythagoras  and  his 
disciples  do  not  eat  beans,  nor  anything  that  contains  life.  It 
is  not  probable,  however,  that  they  enjoy  God's  favour,  or  are 
loved  by  Him  differently  from  others,  or  that  angels  were 
sent  from  heaven  to  them  alone,  as  if  they  had  had  allotted  to 
them  *  some  region  of  the  blessed,'  ^  for  we  see  both  themselves 
and  the  country  of  which  they  were  deemed  worthy.  Let  this 
band,^  then,  take  its  departure,  after  paying  the  penalty  of  its 
vaunting,  not  having  a  knowledge  of  the  great  God,  but  being 
led  away  and  deceived  by  the  artifices  of  Moses,  having  become 
his  pupil  to  no  good  end." 

ChAPTEK  XLII. 

It  is  evident  that,  by  the  preceding  remarks,  Celsus  charges 
the  Jews  with  falsely  giving  themselves  out  as  the  chosen  por- 
tion of  the  Supreme  God  above  all  other  nations.  And  he 
accuses  them  of  boasting,  because  they  gave  out  that  they  knew 
the  great  God,  although  they  did  not  really  know  Him,  but 
were  led  away  by  the  artifices  of  Moses,  and  were  deceived 
by  him,  and  became  his  disciples  to  no  good  end.  Now  we 
have  in  the  preceding  pages  already  spoken  in  part  of  the 
venerable  and  distinguished  polity  of  the  Jews,  when  it  existed 
amongst  them  as  a  symbol  of  the  city  of  God,  and  of  His 
temple,  and  of  the  sacrificial  worship  offered  in  it  and  at  the 
altar  of  sacrifice.  But  if  any  one  were  to  turn  his  attention 
to  the  meaning  of  the  legislator,  and  to  the  constitution  which 
he  established,  and  were  to  examine  the  various  points  relating 
to  him,  and  compare  them  with  the  present  method  of  worship 
amono;  other  nations,  there  are  none  which  he  would  admire 
to  a  greater  degree ;  because,  so  far  as  can  be  accomplished 
among  mortals,  everything  that  was  not  of  advantage  to  the 
human  race  was  withheld  from  them,  and  only  those  things 
which  are  useful  bestowed.  And  for  this  reason  they  had 
neither  gymnastic  contests,  nor  scenic  representations,  nor  horse- 
races ;  nor  were  there  among  them  women  who  sold  their 
beauty  to  any  one  who  wished  to  have  sexual  intercourse  with- 
out offspring,  and  to  cast  contempt  upon  the  nature  of  human 

IT-*.'  '  '  '-  2  ' 


Book  V  J  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  313 

generation.  And  what  an  advantage  was  it  to  be  tauglit  from 
their  tender  years  to  ascend  above  all  visible  nature,  and  to 
hold  the  belief  that  God  was  not  fixed  anywhere  within  its 
limits,  but  to  look  for  Him  on  high,  and  beyond  the  sphere  of 
all  bodily  substance !  ^  And  how  great  was  the  advantage 
which  they  enjoyed  in  being  instructed  almost  from  their  birth, 
and  as  soon  as  they  could  speak,'  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
and  in  the  existence  of  courts  of  justice  under  the  earth,  and 
in  the  rewards  provided  for  those  who  have  lived  righteous 
lives !  These  truths,  indeed,  were  proclaimed  in  the  veil 
of  fable  to  children,  and  to  those  whose  views  of  things  were 
childish;  while  to  those  who  were  already  occupied  in  inves- 
tigating the  truth,  and  desirous  of  making  progress  therein, 
these  fables,  so  to  speak,  were  transfigured  into  the  truths  which 
were  concealed  within  them.  And  I  consider  that  it  was  in  a 
manner  worthy  of  their  name  as  the  "portion  of  God"  that 
they  despised  all  kinds  of  divination,  as  that  which  bewitches 
men  to  no  purpose,  and  which  proceeds  rather  from  wicked 
demons  than  from  anything  of  a  better  nature ;  and  sought  the 
knowledge  of  future  events  in  the  souls  of  those  who,  owing  to 
their  high  degree  of  purity,  received  the  spirit  of  the  Supreme 
God. 

Chapter  xliii. 

But  what  need  is  there  to  point  out  how  agreeable  to  sound 
reason,  and  unattended  with  injury  either  to  master  or  slave, 
was  the  law  that  one  of  the  same  faith  ^  should  not  be  allowed 
to  continue  in  slavery  more  than  six  years?*  The  Jews,  then, 
cannot  be  said  to  preserve  their  own  law  in  the  same  points  with 
the  other  nations.  For  it  would  be  censurable  in  them,  and 
would  involve  a  charge  of  insensibility  to  the  superiority  of 
their  law,  if  they  were  to  believe  that  they  had  been  legislated 
for  in  the  same  way  as  the  other  nations  among  the  heathen. 
And  although  Celsus  will  not  admit  it,  the  Jews  nevertheless  are- 
possessed  of  a  wisdom  superior  not  only  to  that  of  the  multi- 
tude, but  also  of  those  who  have  the  appearance  of  philosophers; 

*  Cf.  Ex.  xxi.  2  and  Jer.  xxxiv.  li. 


314  OPdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

because  those  who  engage  in  philosophical  pursuits,  after  the 
utterance  of  the  most  venerable  philosophical  sentiments,  fall 
I  away  into  the  worship  of  idols  and  demons,  whereas  the  very 
'lowest  Jew  directs  his  look  to  the  Supreme  God  alone;  and 
they  do  well,  indeed,  so  far  as  this  point  is  concerned,  to  pride 
themselves  thereon,  and  to  keep  aloof  from  the  society  of  others 
as  accursed  and  impious.  And  would  that  they  had  not  sinned, 
and  transgressed  the  law,  and  slain  the  prophets  in  former 
times,  and  in  these  latter  days  conspired  against  Jesus,  that  we 
might  be  in  possession  of  a  pattern  of  a  heavenly  cit}-  which 
even  Plato  would  have  sought  to  describe ;  although  I  doubt 
W'hether  he  could  have  accomplished  as  much  as  was  done  by 
Moses  and  those  who  followed  him,  who  nourished  a  "  chosen 
generation,"  and  "  a  holy  nation,"  dedicated  to  God,  with  words 
free  from  all  superstition. 

Chapter  xliv. 

But  as  Celsus  w^ould  compare  the  venerable  customs  of  the 
Jews  with  the  laws  of  certain  nations,  let  us  proceed  to  look  at 
them.  He  is  of  opinion,  accordingly,  that  there  is  no  difference 
between  the  doctrine  recrardinfj  "  heaven"  and  that  recrarding 
"  God  ; "  and  he  says  that  "  the  Persians,  like  the  Jews,  offer 
sacrifices  to  Jupiter  upon  the  tops  of  the  mountains," — not 
observing  that,  as  the  Jews  were  acquainted  with  one  God,  so  i 

they  had  only  one  holy  house  of  prayer,  and  one  altar  of  whole  | 

burnt-offerings,  and  one  censer  for  incense,  and  one  high  priest 
of  God.  The  Jews,  then,  had  nothing  in  common  with  the 
Persians,  who  ascend  the  summits  of  their  mountains,  which  are 
many  in  number,  and  offer  up  sacrifices  which  have  nothing  , 

in  common  with  those  which  are  regulated  by  the  Mosaic  code, 
— in   conformity   to  which  the  Jewish  priests  "  served  unto  the  \ 

example  and  shadow  of  heavenly  things,"  explaining  enigmati-  ! 

caliy  the   object  of  the  law  regarding  the  sacrifices,   and  the  j 

things  of  which  these  sacrifices  were  the  symbols.     The  Per-  I 

sians  therefore  may  call  the  "  whole  circle  of  heaven  "  Jupiter  ; 
but  we  maintain  that  "  the  heaven"  is  neither  Jupiter  nor  God,  ,, 

as  we  indeed  know  that  certain  beings  of  a  class  inferior  to  I 

God  have  ascended  above  the  heavens  and  all  visible  nature : 
and  in  this  sense  we  understand  the  words,  "Praise  God,  ye 


Book  v.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  315 

heaven  of  heavens,  and  ye  waters  tliat  be  above  the  lieavens  ; 
let  them  praise  the  name  of  the  Lord."^ 

Chapter  xlv. 

As  Celsus,  however,  is  of  opinion  that  it  matters  nothing 
whether  the  highest  being  be  called  Jupiter,  or  Zen,  or  Adonai, 
or  Sabaoth,  or  Ammoun  (as  the  Egyptians  term  him),  or  Pap- 
pseus  (as  the  Scythians  entitle  him),  let  us  discuss  the  point 
for  a  little,  reminding  the  reader  at  the  same  time  of  what 
has  been  said  above  upon  this  question,  when  the  language  of 
Celsus  led  us  to  consider  the  subject.  And  now  we  maintain 
'  that  the  nature  of  names  is  not,  as  Aristotle  supposes,  an  enact- 
ment of  those  who  impose  them."  For  the  languages  which 
are  prevalent  among  men  do  not  derive  their  origin  from  men, 
as  is  evident  to  those  who  are  able  to  ascertain  the  nature  of 
the  charms  which  are  appropriated  by  the  inventors  of  the  lan- 
guages differently,  according  to  the  various  tongues,  and  to  the 
varying  pronunciations  of  the  names,  on  which  we  have  spoken 
briefly  in  the  preceding  pages,  remarking  that  when  those  names 
which  in  a  certain  language  were  possessed  of  a  natural  power 
were  translated  into  another,  they  were  no  longer  able  to  accom- 
plish what  they  did  before  when  uttered  in  their  native  tongues. 
And  the  same  peculiarity  is  found  to  apply  to  men ;  for  if  we 
were  to  translate  the  name  of  one  who  was  called  from  his 
birth  by  a  certain  appellation  in  the  Greek  language  into  the 
Egyptian  or  Roman,  or  any  other  tongue,  we  could  not  make 
him  do  or  suffer  the  same  things  which  he  would  have  done  or 
suffered  under  the  appellation  first  bestowed  upon  him.  Nay, 
even  if  we  translated  into  the  Greek  language  the  name  of 
an  individual  who  had  been  originally  invoked  in  the  Koman 
tongue,  we  could  not  produce  the  result  which  the  incantation 
professed  itself  capable  of  accomplishing  had  it  preserved  the  | 
name  first  conferred  upon  him.  And  if  these  statements  are 
true  when  spoken  of  the  names  of  men,  what  are  we  to  think 
of  those  which  are  transferred,  for  any  cause  whatever,  to  \ 
the  Deity  f    For  example,  something  is  transferred^  from  the 

^  Cf.  Ps.  cxlviii.  4,  5.  ^  oV/  ij  -riDy  dvoccacruu  (pvatg  oy  h(ichuv  eltrt  vo/aoi. 

2  fAerciXcciiificivsrcii  yup  7i,  (fsp  itTTiii/.     lu  the  editions  of  Hoeschel  and 
Spencer,  n  is  -wanting. 


31 G  0  RIG  EN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

name  Abraham  when  translated  into  Greek,  and  something  is 
signified  by  that  of  Isaac,  and  also   by  that  of  Jacob ;    and 
accordingly,  if  any  one,  either  in  an  invocation  or  in  swearing 
an  oath,  were  to  use  the  expression,  "  the  God  of  Abraham," 
and  ''  the  God  of  Isaac,"  and  "  the  God  of  Jacob,"  he  would 
produce  certain  effects,  either  owing  to  the  nature  of   these 
names  or  to  their  powers,  since  even  demons  are  vanquished  and  \ 
'  become  submissive  to  him  who  pronounces  these  names;  whereas 
if  we  say,  "  the  god  of  the  chosen  father  of  the  echo,  and  the 
god  of  laughter,  and  the  god  of  him  who  strikes  with  the  heel,"^ 
the  mention  of  the  name  is  attended  with  no  result,  as  is  the 
case  with  other  names  possessed  of  no  power.     And  in  the  same 
way,  if  we  translate  the  word  "  Israel "   into   Greek   or   any 
other  language,  we  shall  produce  no  result ;  but  if  we  retain  it 
as  it  is,  and  join  it  to  those  expressions  to  which  such  as  are. 
skilled  in  these  matters   think   it  ought   to   be  united,  there 
would  then  follow  some  result  from  the  pronunciation  of  the 
Avord  which  would  accord  with  the  professions  of    those  who 
employ  such  invocations.     And  we  may  say  the  same  also  of 
the  pronunciation  of  "  Sabaoth,"  a  word  which  is  frequently 
employed  in  incantations  ;    for  if  we  translate  the  term  into 
"Lord  of  hosts,"  or  "Lord  of  armies,"  or  "Almighty"  (dif- 
ferent acceptations  of  it  having  been  proposed  by  the  inter- 
preters), we  shall   accomplish  nothing ;  whereas    if  we  retain 
the  original  pronunciation,  we  shall,  as  those  who  are  skilled  in 
such  matters  maintain,  produce  some  effect.     And  the  same  ob- 
servation holds  good  of  Adouai.     If,  then,  neither  "  Sabaoth" 
nor  "  Adonai,"  when  rendered  into  what  appears  to  be  their 
meaning  in  the  Greek  tongue,  can  accomplish  anything,  how 
much  less  would  be  the  result  among  those  who  regard  it  as 
a  matter  of  indifference  whether  the  highest  being  be  called 
Jupiter,  or  Zen,  or  Adonai,  or  Sabaoth  ! 

Chapter  xlvi. 

It  was  for  these  and  similar  mysterious  reasons,  with  which 
Moses  and  the  prophets  were  acquainted,  that  they  forbade  the 
name  of  other  gods  to  be  pronounced  by  him  who  bethought 

•TCTipviarov.     Cf.  uote  in  Benedictiue  ed. 


Book  v.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSVS.  317 

himself  of  praying  to  the  one  Supreme  God  alone,  or  to  be  re- 
membered by  a  heart  which  had  been  taught  to  be  pure  from 
all  foolish  thoughts  and  words.  And  for  these  reasons  we 
should  prefer  to  endure  all  manner  of  suffering  rather  than 
acknowledge  Jupiter  to  be  God.  For  we  do  not  consider 
Jupiter  and  Sabaoth  to  be  the  same,  nor  Jupiter  to  be  at  all 
divine,  but  that  some  demon,  unfriendly  to  men  and  to  the  true 
God,  rejoices  under  this  title.^  And  although  the  Egyptians 
were  to  hold  Ammon  before  us  under  threat  of  death,  we 
would  rather  die  than  address  him  as  God,  it  beino;  a  name 
used  in  all  probability  in  certain  Egyptian  incantations  in  which 
this  demon  is  invoked.  And  although  the  Scythians  may  call 
Pappgeus  the  supreme  God,  yet  we  will  not  yield  our  assent  to 
this ;  granting,  indeed,  that  there  is  a  Supreme  Deity,  although 
we  do  not  give  the  name  Pappgeus  to  Him  as  His  proper  title, 
but  regard  it  as  one  which  is  agreeable  to  the  demon  to  whom 
was  allotted  the  desert  of  Scythia,  with  its  people  and  its 
language.  He,  however,  who  gives  God  His  title  in  the 
Scythian  tongue,  or  in  the  Egyptian  or  in  any  language  in 
which  he  has  been  brought  up,  will  not  be  guilty  of  sin. 

Chapter  xlvii. 

Now  the  reason  why  circumcision  is  practised  among  the 
Jews  is  not  the  same  as  that  which  explains  its  existence  among 
the  Egyptians  and  Colchians,  and  therefore  it  is  not  to  be  con- 
sidered the  same  circumcision.  And  as  he  who  sacrifices  does 
not  sacrifice  to  the  same  god,  although  he  appears  to  perform 
the  rite  of  sacrifice  in  a  similar  manner,  and  he  who  offers  up 
prayer  does  not  pray  to  the  same  divinity,  although  he  asks  the 
same  things  in  his  supplication ;  so,  in  the  same  way,  if  one  per- 
forms the  rite  of  circumcision,  it  by  no  means  follows  that  it  is 
not  a  different  act  from  the  circumcision  performed  upon  an- 
other. For  the  purpose,  and  the  law,  and  the  wish  of  him  who 
performs  tlie  rite,  place  the  act  in  a  different  category.  But 
that  the  whole  subject  may  be  still  better  understood,  we  have 
to  remark  that  the  term  for  "  righteousness " '  is  the  same 
among  all  the  Greeks ;  but  righteousness  is  shown  to  be  one 
thing  according  to  the  view  of  Epicurus ;  and  another  accord- 

^  Ocii'fiovx  OS  Tt'jci  x,^lceiv  ovra;  luoy.a^^oy.i'jo'j.  -  oiKXioai/yyi. 


318  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Booe  v. 

ing  to  the  Stoics,  who  deny  the  threefold  division  of  the  soul ; 
and  a  different  thing  again  according  to  the  followers  of  Plato, 
who  hold  that  righteousness  is  the  proper  business  of  the  parts 
of  the  soul.^  And  so  also  the  "courage"^  of  Epicurus  is 
one  thing,  who  would  undergo  some  labours  in  order  to  escape 
from  a  greater  number ;  and  a  different  thing  that  of  the 
philosopher  of  the  Porch,  who  would  choose  all  virtue  for  its 
own  sake ;  and  a  different  thing  still  that  of  Plato,  who  main- 
tains that  virtue  itself  is  the  act  of  the  irascible  part  of  the  soul, 
and  who  assigns  to  it  a  place  about  the  breast.^  And  so  cir- 
cumcision will  be  a  different  thing  according  to  the  varying 
opinions  of  those  who  undergo  it.  But  on  such  a  subject  it  is 
unnecessary  to  speak  on  this  occasion  in  a  treatise  like  the 
present ;  for  whoever  desires  to  see  what  led  us  to  the  subject, 
can  read  what  we  have  said  upon  it  in  the  Epistle  of  Paul  to 
the  Romans. 

Chapter  xlviii. 
Although  the  Jews,  then,  pride  themselves  on  circumcision, 
they  will  separate  it  not  only  from  that  of  the  Colchians  and 
Egyptians,  but  also  from  that  of  the  Arabian  Ishmaelites ;  and 
yet  the  latter  was  derived  from  their  ancestor  Abraham,  the 
father  of  Ishmael,  who  underwent  the  rite  of  circumcision  along 
with  his  father.  The  Jews  say  that  the  circumcision  per- 
formed on  the  eighth  day  is  the  principal  circumcision,  and 
that  which  is  performed  according  to  circumstances  is  different ; 
and  probably  it  was  performed  on  account  of  the  hostility  of 
some  angel  towards  the  Jewish  nation,  who  had  the  power  to 
injure  such  of  them  as  were  not  circumcised,  but  was  powerless 
a<^ainst  those  who  had  undergone  the  rite.  This  may  be  said  to 
appear  from  what  is  written  in  the  book  of  Exodus,  where  the 
angel  before  the  circumcision  of  EHezer*  was  able  to  work 
ao-ainst^  Moses,  but  could  do  nothino;  after  his  son  was  circum- 
cised.  And  when  Zipporah  had  learned  this,  she  took  a  pebble 
and  circumcised  her  child,  and  is  recorded,  according  to  the 

^  iQ  10-77 pocy lav  roiv  f/.spuv  t'^j  -.^V/^vi;.  -  dvdpstu. 

3  To5  6iif/-tK0ii  /u,epov;  t'^j  'ipv'/,r,;  (pccaKOvro;  ccvro  uvut  cipsrv,!/,  kui  as'oracffow- 
TOj-  eivTy.  TOTTOv  tov  "Trepl  rov  OupxKX. 

■•  Cf.  Ex.  iv.  24,  25.  Eliezer  was  one  of  the  two  sons  of  ^foses.  Cf.  Ex. 
xviii.  4.  °  ti/ipyuu  KotTx  M-uvatu;. 


Book  V .]  OEIGEN  A  GA INST  CELS  US.  3 1 9 

reading  of  the  common  copies,  to  have  said,  ''  The  blood  of  my 
child's  circumcision  is  stayed,"  but  according  to  the  Hebrew 
text,  "  A  bloody  husband  art  thou  to  me."  ^  For  she  had 
known  the  story  about  a  certain  angel  having  power  before 
the  shedding  of  the  blood,  but  who  became  powerless  through 
the  blood  of  circumcision.  For  which  reason  the  words  were 
addressed  to  Moses,  "  A  bloody  husband  art  thou  to  me."  But 
these  things,  which  appear  rather  of  a  curious  nature,  and  not 
level  to  the  comprehension  of  the  multitude,  I  have  ventured  to 
treat  at  such  length ;  and  now  I  shall  only  add,  as  becomes 
a  Christian,  one  thing  more,  and  shall  then  pass  on  to  what 
follows.  For  this  angel  might  have  had  power,  I  think,  over 
those  of  the  people  who  were  not  circumcised,  and  generally 
over  all  who  worshipped  only  the  Creator ;  and  this  power  lasted 
so  long  as  Jesus  had  not  assumed  a  human  body.  But  when 
He  had  done  this,  and  had  undergone  the  rite  of  circumcision  in 
His  own  person,  all  the  power  of  the  angel  over  those  who  prac- 
tise the  same  worship,  but  are  not  circumcised,^  was  abolished ; 
for  Jesus  reduced  it  to  nought  by  [the  power  of]  His  unspeak- 
able divinity.  And  therefore  His  disciples  are  forbidden  to 
circumcise  themselves,  and  are  reminded  [by  the  apostle]  :  ''  If 
ye  be  circumcised,  Christ  shall  profit  you  nothing."  ^ 

Chapter  xlix. 

But  neither  do  the  Jews  pride  themselves  upon  abstaining 
from  swine's  flesh,  as  if  it  were  some  great  thing  ;  but  upon  their 
having  ascertained  the  nature  of  clean  and  unclean  animals, 
and  the  cause  of  the  distinction,  and  of  swine  being  classed 
among  the  unclean.  And  these  distinctions  were  signs  of  cer- 
tain things  until  the  advent  of  Jesus ;  after  whose  coming  it 
was  said  to  His  disciple,  who  did  not  yet  comprehend  the  doc- 
trine concerning  these  matters,  but  who  said,  "  Nothing  that 
is  common  or  unclean  hath  entered  into  my  mouth,"  *  "  What 
God  hath  cleansed,  call  not  thou  common."  It  therefore  in 
no  way  affects  either  the  Jews  or  us  that  the  Egyptian  priests 

1  Cf.  Ex.  iv.  25,  26. 

KSC.TX  rav   su   7/1   Qsoasfiiici,    txvt'/]    iripiTif/yjoyAvuv   OV'jcty.i;.        Bolierellus 
inserts  y^  before  TrspinyvoyAviJu,  -which  has  been  adopted  in  the  text. 
^Gal.  v.  2.  *  Cf.  Acts  X.  14. 


320  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

abstain  not  only  from  the  flesh  of  swine,  but  also  from  that  of 
goats,  and  sheep,  and  oxen,  and  fish.  But  since  it  is  not  that 
"  which  entereth  into  the  mouth  that  defiles  a  man,"  and  since 
"  meat  does  not  commend  us  to  God,"  we  do  not  set  great  store 
on  refraining  from  eating,  nor  yet  are  we  induced  to  eat  from 
a  gluttonous  appetite.  And  therefore,  so  far  as  we  are  con- 
cerned, the  followers  of  Pythagoras,  who  abstain  from  all  things 
that  contain  life,  may  do  as  they  please  ;  only  observe  the  dif- 
ferent reason  for  abstaining  from  things  that  have  life  on  the 
part  of  the  Pythagoreans  and  our  ascetics.  For  the  former 
abstain  on  account  of  the  fable  about  the  transmigration  of 
souls,  as  the  poet  says  : 

"  And  some  one,  lifting  up  his  beloved  son, 

Will  slay  him  after  prayer  ;  0  how  foolish  he  ! "'  ^ 

We,  however,  when  we  do  abstain,  do  so  because  "  we  keep 
under  our  body,  and  bring  it  into  subjection,"^  and  desire 
"  to  mortify  our  members  that  are  upon  the  earth,  fornication, 
uncleanness,  inordinate  affection,  evil  concupiscence;"^  and  we 
use  every  effort  to  "  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  flesh.'"  * 

Chapter  l. 

Celsus,  still  expressing  his  opinion  regarding  the  Jews,  says : 
"  It  is  not  probable  that  they  are  in  great  favour  with  God,  or 
are  regarded  by  Him  with  more  affection  than  others,  or  that 
angels  are  sent  by  Him  to  them  alone,  as  if  to  them  had  been 
allotted  some  region  of  the  blessed.  For  we  may  see  both  the 
people  themselves,  and  the  country  of  which  they  were  deemed 
worthy."  We  shall  refute  this,  by  remarking  that  it  is  evident 
that  this  nation  was  in  great  favour  with  God,  from  the  fact 
that  the  God  who  presides  over  all  things  was  called  the  God  of 
the  Hebrews,  even  by  those  who  were  aliens  to  our  faith.  And 
because  they  were  in  favour  with  God,  they  were  not  abandoned 
by  Him  •/'  but  although  few  in  number,  they  continued  to  enjoy 

^  y.oti  rtg  (pt'hov  viov  diipotg^ 

— A  verse  of  Empedocles,  quoted  by  Plutarch,  de  Siiperstitione,  c.  xii. 
Spencer.    Cf.  note  in  he.  in  Benedictine  edition. 

=*  Cf.  1  Cor.  ix.  27.  ^  cf.  Col.  iii.  5.  "  Cf.  Rom.  viii.  13. 

^  X5t(  6JJ  ivooxif^rji/vrit  yi  ooov  ovx.  h/KXTs'AiiTro'jro.  The  negative  particle 
(oyx)  is  wanting  in  the  editions  of  Hoeschel  and  Spencer,  but  is  found  in 


Book  v.]  OllIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  321 

the  protection  of  the  divhie  power,  so  that  in  the  reign  of 
Alexander  of  Macedon  they  sustained  no  injury  from  him, 
although  they  refused,  on  account  of  cei'tain  covenants  and 
oaths,  to  take  up  arms  against  Darius.  They  say  that  on  that 
occasion  the  Jewish  high  priest,  clothed  in  his  sacred  robe, 
received  obeisance  from  Alexander,  who  declared  that  he  had 
beheld  an  individual  arrayed  in  this  fashion,  who  announced  to 
him  in  his  sleep  that  he  was  to  be  the  subjugator  of  the  whole 
of  Asia.  Accordingly,  we  Christians  maintain  that  "  it  was 
the  fortune  of  that  people  in  a  remarkable  degree  to  enjoy 
God's  favour,  and  to  be  loved  by  Him  in  a  way  different  from 
others  ;"  but  that  this  economy  of  things  and  this  divine  favour 
were  transferred  to  us,  after  Jesus  had  conveyed  the  power 
which  had  been  manifested  among  the  Jews  to  those  who  had 
become  converts  to  Him  from  among  the  heathen.  And  for 
this  reason,  although  the  Romans  desired  to  perpetrate  many 
atrocities  against  the  Christians,  in  order  to  ensure  their  ex- 
termination, they  were  unsuccessful ;  for  there  was  a  divine 
hand  which  fought  on  their  behalf,  and  whose  desire  it  was 
that  the  w'ord  of  God  should  spread  from  one  corner  of  the 
land  of  Judea  throughout  the  whole  human  race. 

CHAPTER  LI. 

But  seeing  that  we  have  answered  to  the  best  of  our  ability 
the  charges  brought  by  Celsus  against  the  Jews  and  their 
doctrine,  let  us  proceed  to  consider  what  follows,  and  to  prove 
that  it  is  no  empty  boast  on  our  part  when  we  make  a  profes- 
sion of  knowing  the  great  God,  and  that  we  have  not  been  led 
away  by  any  juggling  tricks  ^  of  Moses  (as  Celsus  imagines), 
or  even  of  our  own  Saviour  Jesus ;  but  that  for  a  good  end  we 
listen  to  the  God  who  speaks  in  Moses,  and  have  accepted 
Jesus,  whom  he  testifies  to  be  God,  as  tlie  Son  of  God,  in  hope 
of  receiving  the  best  rewards  if  we  regulate  our  lives  according 
to  His  word.  And  we  shall  willingly  pass  over  what  we  have 
already  stated  by  way  of  anticipation  on  the  points,  "  whence 

the  Eoyal,  Basil,  and  Vatican  Mss.  Quietus  would  delete  oaou  (which 
emendation  has  been  adopted  in  the  translation),  while  Boherellus  would 
read  oaoi  instead. — Ru^us. 

ORIG. — VOL.  II.  X 


322  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

we  dame,  and  who  is  our  leader,  and  what  law  proceeded  from 
Him."  And  if  Celsus  would  maintain  that  there  is  no  differ- 
ence between  us  and  the  Egyptians,  who  worship  the  goat,  or 
the  ram,  or  the  crocodile,  or  the  ox,  or  the  river-horse,  or  the 
dog-faced  baboon,^  or  the  cat,  he  can  ascertain  if  it  be  so,  and 
so  may  any  other  who  thinks  alike  on  the  subject.  "We,  how- 
ever, have  to  the  best  of  our  ability  defended  ourselves  at  great 
length  in  the  preceding  pages  on  the  subject  of  the  honour 
which  we  render  to  our  Jesus,  pointing  out  that  we  have  found 
the  better  part;^  and  that  in  showing  that  the  truth  which  is 
contained  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus  Christ  is  pure  and  unmixed 
with  error,  we  are  not  commending  ourselves,  but  our  Teacher, 
to  whom  testimony  was  borne  through  many  witnesses  by  the 
Supreme  God  and  the  prophetic  writings  among  the  Jews,  and 
by  the  very  clearness  of  the  case  itself,  for  it  is  demonstrated 
that  He  could  not  have  accomplished  such  mighty  works  with- 
out the  divine  help. 

Chapter  lii. 

But  the  statement  of  Celsus  which  we  wish  to  examine  at 
present  is  the  following :  "  Let  us  then  pass  over  the  refuta- 
tions which  min;ht  be  adduced  ao;ainst  the  claims  of  their 
teacher,  and  let  him  be  regarded  as  really  an  augel.  But  is  he 
the  first  and  only  one  who  came  [to  men],  or  were  there  others 
before  him  ?  If  they  should  say  that  he  is  the  only  one,  they 
would  be  convicted  of  telling  lies  against  themselves.  For 
they  assert  that  on  many  occasions  others  came,  and  sixty  or 
seventy  of  them  together,  and  that  these  became  wicked,  and 
were  cast  under  the  earth  and  punished  with  chains,  and  that 
from  this  source  originate  the  warm  springs,  which  are  their 
tears ;  and,  moreover,  that  there  came  an  angel  to  the  tomb 
of  this  said  being — according  to  some,  indeed,  one,  but  accord- 
ins  to  others,  two — who  answered  the  women  that  he  had 
arisen.  For  the  Son  of  God  could  not  himself,  as  it  seems, 
open  the  tomb,  but  needed  the  help  of  another  to  roll  away  the 
stone.  And  again,  on  account  of  the  pregnancy  of  Mary, 
there  came  an  angel  to  the  carpenter,  and  once  more  another 
angel,  in  order  that  they  might  take  up  the  young  child  and 


Book  v.]  OPdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  323 

flee  away  [Into  Egypt].  But  what  need  is  there  to  particularize 
everything,  or  to  count  up  the  number  of  angels  said  to  have 
been  sent  to  Moses,  and  others  amongst  them  ?  If,  then,  others 
were  sent,  it  is  manifest  that  he  also  came  from  the  same  God. 
But  he  may  be  supposed  to  have  the  appearance  of  announcing 
something  of  greater  importance  [than  those  who  preceded 
him],  as  if  the  Jews  had  been  committing  sin,  or  corrupting 
their  religion,  or  doing  deeds  of  impiety ;  for  these  things  are 
obscurely  hinted  at." 

Chapter  liii. 

The  preceding  remarks  might  suffice  as  an  answer  to  the 
charges  of  Celsus,  so  far  as  regards  those  points  in  which  our 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ  is  made  the  subject  of  special  investigation. 
But  that  we  may  avoid  the  appearance  of  intentionally  passing 
over  any  portion  of  his  work,  as  if  we  were  unable  to  meet  him, 
let  us,  even  at  the  risk  of  being  tautological  (since  we  are 
challenged  to  this  by  Celsus),  endeavour  as  far  as  we  can 
with  all  due  brevity  to  continue  our  discourse,  since  perhaps 
something  either  more  precise  or  more  novel  may  occur  to  us 
upon  the  several  topics.  He  says,  indeed,  that  "  he  has  omitted 
the  refutations  which  have  been  adduced  against  the  claims 
which  Christians  advance  on  behalf  of  their  teacher,"  although 
he  has  not  omitted  anything  which  he  was  able  to  bring  for- 
ward, as  is  manifest  from  his  previous  language,  but  makes  this 
statement  only  as  an  empty  rhetorical  device.  That  we  are 
not  refuted,  however,  on  the  subject  of  our  great  Saviour, 
although  the  accuser  may  appear  to  refute  us,  will  be  manifest 
to  those  who  peruse  in  a  spirit  of  truth-loving  investigation  all 
that  is  predicted  and  recorded  of  Him.  And,  in  the  next  place, 
since  he  considers  that  he  makes  a  concession  in  saying  of  the 
Saviour,  "  Let  him  appear  to  be  really  an  angel,"  we  reply  / 
that  we  do  not  accept  of  such  a  concession  from  Celsus ;  but  N,. 
we  look  to  the  work  of  Him  who  came  to  visit  the  whole  human 
race  in  His  word  and  teaching,  as  each  one  of  His  adherents 
was  capable  of  receiving  Him.  And  this  was  the  work  of  one 
who,  as  the  prophecy  regarding  Him  said,  was  not  simply  an 
angel,  but  the  "  Angel  of  the  great  council  :"^  for  He  announced 
^  Cf.  Isa.  is.  6. 


324  OFJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

to  men  the  great  counsel  of  the  God  and  Father  of  all  things 
regarding  them,  [saying]  of  those  who  yield  themselves  up  to  a 
life  of  pure  religion,  that  they  ascend  by  means  of  their  great 
deeds  to  God ;  but  of  those  who  do  not  adhere  to  Him,  that 
they  place  themselves  at  a  distance  from  God,  and  journey  on 
to  destruction  through  their  unbelief  of  Him.  He  then  con- 
tinues :  "  If  even  the  angel  came  to  men,  is  he  the  first  and 
only  one  who  came,  or  did  others  come  on  former  occasions?" 
And  he  thinks  he  can  meet  either  of  these  dilemmas  at  great 
length,  although  there  is  not  a  single  real  Christian  who  asserts 
that  Christ  was  the  only  being  that  visited  the  human  race. 
For,  as  Celsus  says,  "  If  they  should  say  the  only  one,"  there 
are  others  who  appeared  to  different  individuals. 

Chapter  liv. 

In  the  next  place,  he  proceeds  to  answer  himself  as  he 
thinks  fit  in  the  following  terms :  "  And  so  he  is  not  the  only 
one  who  is  recorded  to  have  visited  the  human  race,  as  even 
those  who,  under  pretext  of  teaching  in  the  name  of  Jesus, 
have  apostatized  from  the  Creator  as  an  inferior  being,  and 
have  given  in  their  adherence  to  one  who  is  a  superior  God  and 
father  of  him  who  visited  [the  world],  assert  that  before  him 
certain  beings  came  from  the  Creator  to  visit  the  human  race." 
!Now,  as  it  is  in  the  spirit  of  truth  that  we  investigate  all  that 
relates  to  the  subject,  we  shall  remark  that  it  is  asserted  by 
Apelles,  the  celebrated  disciple  of  Marcion,  who  became  the 
founder  of  a  certain  sect,  and  who  treated  the  writings  of  the 
Jews  as  fabulous,  that  Jesus  is  the  only  one  that  came  to  visit 
the  human  race.  Even  against  him,  then,  who  maintained  that 
Jesus  was  the  only  one  that  came  from  God  to  men,  it  would 
be  in  vain  for  Celsus  to  quote  the  statements  regarding  the 
descent  of  other  angels,  seeing  Apelles  discredits,  as  we  have 
already  mentioned,  the  miraculous  narratives  of  the  Jewish 
Scriptures ;  and  much  more  will  he  decline  to  admit  what 
Celsus  has  adduced,  from  not  understanding  the  contents  of  the 
book  of  Enoch.  No  one,  then,  convicts  us  of  falsehood,  or  of 
making  contradictory  assertions,  as  if  we  maintained  both  that 
our  Saviour  was  the  only  being  that  ever  came  to  men,  and 
yet  that  many  others  came  on  different  occasions.    And  in  a 


■X 


4 


Book  v.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  325 

most  confused  manner,  moreover,  docs  he  adduce,  when  examin- 
ing the  subject  of  the  visits  of   angels  to  men,  what  lie  has 
derived,  without  seeing  its  meaning,  from  the  contents  of  the 
book  of  Enoch;  for  he  does  not  appear  to  have  read  the  passages    j  / 
in  question,  nor  to  have  been  aware  that  the  books  which  bear    I 
the  name  of  Enoch  do  not  at  all  circulate  in  the  churches  as     1 
divine,  although  it  is  from  this  source  that  he  might  be  sup- 
posed to  have  obtained  the  statement,  that  "  sixty  or  seventy 
angels  descended  at  the  same  time,  who  fell   into  a  state  of 
wickedness."' 

Chapter  lv. 

But,  that  we  may  grant  to  him  in  a  spirit  of  candour  what  he 
has  not  discovered  in  the  contents  of  the  book  of  Genesis,  that 
"  the  sons  of  God,  seeing  the  daughters  of  men,  that  they  were 
fair,  took  to  them  wives  of  all  whom  they  chose,"  we  shall 
nevertheless  even  on  this  point  persuade  those  who  are  capable 
1  of  understanding  the  meaning  of  the  prophet,  that  even  before 
us  there  was  one  who  referred  this  narrative  to  the  doctrine 
regarding  souls,  which  became  possessed  with  a  desire  for  the  / 
corporeal  life  of  men,  and  this  in  metaphorical  language,  he 
said,  was  termed  "  daughters  of  men."  But  whatever  may  be 
the  meaning  of  the  "  sons  of  God  desiring  to  possess  the 
daughters  of  men,"  it  will  not  at  all  contribute  to  prove  that 
Jesus  was  not  the  only  one  who  visited  mankind  as  an  angel, 
and  who  manifestly  became  the  Saviour  and  benefactor  of  all 
those  who  depart  from  the  flood  of  wickedness.  Then,  mixing 
up  and  confusing  whatever  he  had  at  any  time  heard,  or  had 
anywhere  found  written — whether  held  to  be  of  divine  origin 
among  Christians  or  not — he  adds  :  "  The  sixty  or  seventy 
who  descended  together  were  cast  under  the  earth,  and  were 
punished  with  chains."  And  he  quotes  (as  from  the  book  of 
Enoch,  but  without  naming  it)  the  following :  "  And  hence  it 
is  that  the  tears  of  these  angels  are  warm  springs," — a  thing 
neither  mentioned  nor  heard  of  in  the  churches  of  God !  For 
no  one  was  ever  so  foolish  as  to  materialize  into  human  tears 
those  which  were  shed  by  the  angels  who  had  come  down  from 
heaven.  And  if  it  were  right  to  pass  a  jest  upon  what  is 
advanced  against  us  in  a  serious  spirit  by  Celsus,  we  might 


326  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

observe  that  no  one  ^Yould  ever  have  said  that  hot  sprnigs,  the 
greater  part  of  which  are  fresh  water,  were  the  tears  of  the    W* 
angels,  since  tears  are  sahish  in  their  nature,  unless  indeed  the    *' 
angels,  in  the  opinion  of  Celsus,  shed  tears  which  are  fresh. 

Chapter  lvi. 

Proceeding  immediately  after  to  mix  up  and  compare  with 
one  another  things  that  are  dissimilar,  and  incapable  of  being 
united,  he  subjoins  to  his  statement  regarding  the  sixty  or 
seventy  angels  who  came  down  from  heaven,  and  who,  accord- 
ing to  him,  shed  fountains  of  warm  water  for  tears,  the 
following  :  "  It  is  related  also  that  there  came  to  the  tomb  of 
Jesus  himself,  according  to  some,  two  angels,  according  to 
others,  one ; "  having  failed  to  notice,  I  think,  that  Matthew  and 
Mark  speak  of  one,  and  Luke  and  John  of  two,  which  state- 
ments are  not  contradictory.  For  they  who  mention  "  one," 
say  that  it  was  he  who  rolled  away  the  stone  from  the  sepulchre; 
while  they  who  mention  "  two,"  refer  to  those  who  appeared  in 
shining  raiment  to  the  women  that  repaired  to  the  sepulchre,  or 
who  were  seen  within  sitting  in  white  garments.  Each  of  these 
occurrences  might  now  be  demonstrated  to  have  actually  taken 
place,  and  to  be  indicative  of  a  figurative  meaning  existing  in 
these  "  phenomena,"  [and  intelligible]  to  those  who  were  pre- 
pared to  behold  the  resurrection  of  the  Word.  Such  a  task, 
however,  does  not  belong  to  our  present  purpose,  but  rather  to 
an  exposition  of  the  gospel. 

Chapter  lvii. 

Now,  that  miraculous  appearances  have  sometimes  been 
witnessed  by  human  beings,  is  related  by  the  Greeks;  and  not 
only  by  those  of  them  who  might  be  suspected  of  composing 
fabulous  narratives,  but  also  by  those  who  have  given  every 
evidence  of  being  genuine  philosophers,  and  of  having  related 
with  perfect  truth  what  had  happened  to  them.  Accounts  of 
this  kind  we  have  read  in  the  writings  of  Chrysippus  of  Soli, 
and  also  some  things  of  the  same  kind  relating  to  Pythagoras ; 
as  well  as  in  some  of  the  more  recent  writers  who  lived  a  very 
short  time  ago,  as  in  the  treatise  of  Plutarch  of  Chocronea  "  on 
the  Soul,"  and  in  the  second  book  of  the  work  of  Numenius 


Book  v.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  327 

the  Pythngorean  on  the  "  Incorruptibility  of  the  Soul."  Now, 
when  such  accounts  arc  related  by  the  Greeks,  and  especially 
by  the  philosophers  among  them,  they  are  not  to  be  received 
with  mockery  and  ridicule,  nor  to  be  regarded  as  fictions  and 
fables ;  but  when  those  who  are  devoted  to  the  God  of  all 
things,  and  who  endure  all  kinds  of  injury,  even  to  death  itself, 
rather  than  allow  a  falsehood  to  escape  their  lips  regarding  God, 
announce  the  appearances  of  angels  which  they  have  themselves 
witnessed,  they  are  to  be  deemed  unworthy  of  belief,  and  their 
words  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  true  !  Now  it  is  opposed  to 
sound  reason  to  judge  in  this  way  whether  individuals  are 
speaking  truth  or  falsehood.  For  those  who  act  honestly,  only 
after  a  long  and  careful  examination  into  the  details  of  a  subject, 
slowly  and  cautiously  express  their  opinion  of  the  veracity  or 
falsehood  of  this  or  that  person  with  regard  to  the  marvels 
which  they  may  relate;  since  it  is  the  case  that  neither  do  all  men 
show  themselves  w^orthy  of  belief,  nor  do  all  make  it  distinctly 
evident  that  they  are  relating  to  men  only  fictions  and  fables. 
Moreover,  regarding  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  from  the  dead, 
we  have  this  remark  to  make,  that  it  is  not  at  all  wonderful 
if,  on  such  an  occasion,  either  one  or  two  angels  should  have 
appeared  to  announce  that  Jesus  had  risen  from  the  dead,  and 
to  provide  for  the  safety  of  those  who  believed  in  such  an  event 
to  the  advantage  of  tlieir  souls.  Nor  does  it  appear  to  me  at 
all  unreasonable,  that  those  who  believe  in  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus,  and  who  manifest,  as  a  fruit  of  their  faith  not  to  be 
lightly  esteemed,  their  possession  of  a  virtuous^  life,  and  their 
withdrawal  from  the  flood  of  evils,  should  not  be  unattended  by 
angels  who  lend  their  help  in  accomplishing  their  conversion  to 
God. 

Chapter  lviii. 

But  Celsus  challenges  the  account  also  that  an  angel  rolled 
away  the  stone  from  the  sepulchre  where  the  body  of  Jesus 
lay,  acting  like  a  lad  at  school,  who  should  bring  a  charge 
against  any  one  by  help  of  a  string  of  commonplaces.  And,  as  if 
he  had  discovered  some  clever  objection  to  the  narrative,  he  re- 
marks: "The  Son  of  God,  then,  it  appears,  could  not  open  his 


328  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

tomb,  but  required  the  aid  of  another  to  roll  away  the  stone." 
Now,  not  to  overdo  the  discussion  of  this  matter,  or  to  have  the 
appearance  of  unreasonably  introducing  philosophical  remarks, 
by  explaining  the  figurative  meaning  at  present,  I  shall  simply 
say  of  the  narrative  alone,  that  it  does  appear  in  itself  a  more 
respectful  proceeding,  that  the  servant  and  inferior  should  have 
rolled  away  the  stone,  than  that  such  an  act  should  have  been 
performed  by  Him  whose  resurrection  was  to  be  for  the  advan- 
tage of  mankind.  I  do  not  speak  of  the  desire  of  those  who 
conspired  against  the  Word,  and  who  wished  to  put  Him  to  death, 
and  to  show  to  all  men  that  He  loas  dead  and  non-existent,^ 
that  His  tomb  should  not  be  opened,  in  order  that  no  one  might 
behold  the  Word  alive  after  their  conspiracy ;  but  the  "  Angel 
of  God"  who  came  into  the  world  for  the  salvation  of  men, 
with  the  help  of  another  angel,  proved  more  powerful  than 
the  conspirators,  and  rolled  away  the  weighty  stone,  that  those 
who  deemed  the  AVord  to  be  dead  might  be  convinced  that  He 
is  not  with  the  "  departed,"  but  is  alive,  and  precedes  those  who 
are  willing  to  follow  Him,  that  He  may  manifest  to  them  those 
truths  which  come  after  those  which  He  formerly  showed  them 
at  the  time  of  their  first  entrance  [into  the  school  of  Chris- 
tianity], when  they  were  as  yet  incapable  of  receiving  deeper 
instruction.  In  the  next  place,  I  do  not  understand  what 
advantage  he  thinks  will  accrue  to  his  purpose  when  he  ridi- 
cules the  account  of  "  the  angel's  visit  to  Joseph  regarding  the 
pregnancy  of  Mary;"  and  again,  that  of  the  angel  to  warn 
the  parents  "  to  take  up  the  new-born  child,  whose  life  was 
in  danger,  and  to  flee  with  it  into  Egypt."  Concerning  these 
matters,  however,  we  have  in  the  preceding  pages  answered 
his  statements.  But  what  does  Celsus  mean  by  saying,  that 
"  according  to  the  Scriptures,  angels  are  recorded  to  have  been 
sent  to  Moses,  and  others  as  well?"  For  it  appears  to  me  to 
contribute  nothing  to  his  purpose,  and  especially  because  none 
of  them  made  any  effort  to  accomplish,  as  far  as  in  his  power, 
the  conversion  of  the  human  race  from  their  sins.  Let  it  be 
granted,  however,  that  other  angels  were  sent  from  God,  but 
that  he  came  to  announce  something  of  greater  importance 
[than  any  others  who  preceded  him]  ;  and  when  the  Jews  had 

^  KXl   TO  [AY^iV  TVy/^KVOUTOi. 


Book  v.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  329 

fallen  into  sin,  and  corrupted  their  religion,  and  had  done 
unholy  deeds,  transferred  the  kingdom  of  God  to  other 
husbandmen,  who  in  all  the  churches  take  special  care  of 
themselves,^  and  use  every  endeavour  by  means  of  a  holy  life, 
and  by  a  doctrine  conformable  thereto,  to  win  over  to  the  God 
of  all  things  those  who  would  rush  away  from  the  teaching  of 
Jesus.^ 

Chapter  lix, 

Celsus  then  continues  :  "  The  Jews  accordingly,  and  these 
(clearly  meaning  the  Christians),  have  the  same  God;"  and  as 
if  advancing  a  proposition  which  would  not  be  conceded,  he 
proceeds  to  make  the  following  assertion  :  "  It  is  certain, 
indeed,  that  the  members  of  the  great  church  ^  admit  this,  and 
adopt  as  true  the  accounts  regarding  the  creation  of  the  world 
which  are  current  among  the  Jews,  viz.  concerning  the  six 
days  and  the  seventh  ;"  on  which  day,  as  the  Scripture  says, 
God  "  ceased"'^  from  His  works,  retiring  into  the  contemplation 
of  Himself,  but  on  which,  as  Celsus  says  (who  does  not  abide 
by  the  letter  of  the  history,  and  who  does  not  understand  its 
meaning),  God  "rested,"" — a  term  which  is  not  found  in  the 
record.  With  respect,  however,  to  the  creation  of  the  world, 
and  the  "  rest*'  which  is  reserved  after  it  for  the  people  of 
God,"  the  subject  is  extensive,  and  mystical,  and  profound,  and 
difficult  of  explanation.  In  the  next  place,  as  it  appears  to  me, 
from  a  desire  to  fill  up  his  book,  and  to  give  it  an  appearance 
of  importance,  he  recklessly  adds  certain  statements,  such  as 
the  following,  relating  to  the  first  man,  of  whom  he  says  :  "  We 
give  the  same  account  as  do  the  Jews,  and  deduce  the  same 
genealogy  from  him  as  they  do."  However,  as  regards  "  the 
conspiracies  of  brothers  against  one  another,"  we  know  of  none 
such,  save  that  Cain  conspired  against  Abel,  and  Esau  against 
Jacob  ;  but  not  Abel  against  Cain,  nor  Jacob  against  Esau : 
for  if  this  had  been  the  case,  Celsus  would  have  been  correct 

1  sccvtZv.     Guietus  -would  read  uvtZu,  to  agree  with  ruv  iKy.MjiZy. 
"  Instead  of  rx;  cc'ttotv;;  'hthccfjKcc^ice.;  tov  '  Inaov  ccfop/mx;,  Boherellus  con- 
jectures rov;  .  .  .  dipopuZvTci;,  which  has  been  adopted  in  the  translation. 
^  TOJV  ctTTo  y.iycf.'hfii  SKKTirtdix;.  *  x-oiTi-Troiva-v. 


330  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

in  saying  that  we  give  the  same  accounts  as  do  the  Je"ws  of 
"  the  conspiracies  of  brothers  against  one  another."  Let  it 
be  granted,  however,  that  we  speak  of  the  same  descent  into 
Egypt  as  they,  and  of  tlieir  return^  thence,  which  was  not  a 
"  flight,"^  as  Celsus  considers  it  to  have  been,  what  does  that 
avail  towards  founding  an  accusation  against  us  or  against  the 
Jews  ?  Here,  indeed,  he  thought  to  cast  ridicule  upon  us, 
when,  in  speaking  of  the  Hebrew  people,  he  termed  their 
exodus  a  "flight ;"  but  Avhen  it  was  his  business  to  investigate 
the  account' of  the  punishments  inflicted  by  God  upon  Egypt, 
that  topic  he  purposely  passed  by  in  silence. 

Chaptee  lx. 

If,  however,  it  be  necessary  to  express  ourselves  with  pre- 
cision in  our  answer  to  Celsus,  who  thinks  that  w^e  hold  the 
same  opinions  on  the  matters  in  question  as  do  the  Jews,  we 
would  say  that  we  both  agree  that  the  books  [of  Scripture] 
were  written  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  but  that  we  do  not  agree 
about  the  meaning;  of  their  contents;  for  we  do  not  reo;ulate  our 
lives  like  the  Jews,  because  we  are  of  opinion  that  the  literal 
acceptation  of  the  laws  is  not  that  which  conveys  the  meaning 
of  the  legislation.  And  we  maintain,  that  "  when  ISIoses  is  read, 
the  veil  is  upon  their  heart,"  ^  because  the  meaning  of  the 
law  of  Moses  has  been  concealed  from  those  who  have  not 

(welcomed^  the  Avay  which  is  by  Jesus  Christ.  But  we  know 
that  if  one  turn  to  the  Lord  (for  "  the  Lord  is  that  Spirit"), 
the  veil  being  taken  away,  "  he  beholds,  as  in  a  mirror  with 
unveiled  face,  the  glory  of  the  Lord"  in  those  thoughts  which 
are  concealed  in  their  literal  expression,  and  to  his  own  glory 
becomes  a  participator  of  the  divine  glory ;  the  terra  "  face  " 
being  used  figuratively  for  the  "  understanding,"  as  one  would 
call  it  without  a  figure,  in  which  is  the  face  of  the  "  inner 
man,"  filled  with  light  and  glory,  flowing  from  the  true  com- 
prehension of  the  contents  of  the  law. 

Chapter  lxi. 

After  the  above  remarks  he  proceeds  as  follows :  "  Let  no 

^  2  Cor.  iii.  15.  ■*  dazrctaauiyoi;. 


Book  v.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  331 

one  suppose  that  I  am  ignorant  that  some  of  them  will  concede 
that  their  God  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  Jews,  wliile  others 
will  maintain  that  he  is  a  different  one,  to  whom  tlie  latter  is 
in  opposition,  and  that  it  was  from  the  former  that  the  Son 
came."  Now,  if  he  imagine  that  the  existence  of  numerous 
heresies  among  the  Christians  is  a  grormd  of  accusation  against 
Christianity,  why,  in  a  similar  way,  should  it  not  be  a  ground 
of  accusation  against  philosophy,  that  the  various  sects  of  philo- 
sophers differ  from  each  other,  not  on  small  and  indifferent 
points,  but  upon  those  of  the  highest  importance  ?  Nay, 
medicine  also  ought  to  be  a  subject  of  attack,  on  account  of 
its  many  conflicting  schools.  Let  it  be  admitted,  then,  that 
there  are  amongst  us  some  who  deny  that  our  God  is  the  same 
as  that  of  the  Jews  :  nevertheless,  on  that  account  those  are  not 
to  be  blamed  who  prove  from  the  same  Scriptures  that  one  and 
the  same  Deity  is  the  God  of  the  Jews  and  of  the  Gentiles 
alike,  as  Paul,  too,  distinctly  says,  who  was  a  convert  from 
Judaism  to  Christianity,  "  I  thank  my  God,  whom  I  serve  from 
ray  forefathers  with  a  pure  conscience."-^  And  let  it  be 
admitted  also,  that  there  is  a  third  class  who  call  certain  per- 
sons "  carnal,"  and  others  "  spiritual "  (I  think  he  here  means 
the  followers  of  Valentinus)  :  yet  what  does  this  avail  against 
us,  who  belong  to  the  church,  and  who  make  it  an  accusation 
against  such  as  hold  that  certain  natures  are  saved,  and  that 
others  perish  in  consequence  of  their  natural  constitution?^ 
And  let  it  be  admitted  further,  that  there  are  some  who  give 
themselves  out  as  Gnostics,  in  the  same  way  as  those  Epicu- 
reans who  call  themselves  philosophers  :  yet  neither  will  they 
who  annihilate  the  doctrine  of  providence  be  deemed  true 
philosophers,  nor  those  true  Christians  who  introduce  monstrous 
inventions,  which  are  disapproved  of  by  those  who  are  the  dis- 
ciples of  Jesus.  Let  it  be  admitted,  moreover,  that  there  are 
some  who  accept  Jesus,  and  who  boast  on  that  account  of  being 
Christians,  and  yet  would  regulate  their  lives,  like  the  Jewish 
multitude,  in  accordance  with  the  Jewish  law, — and  these  are 
the  twofold  sect  of  Ebionites,  who  either  acknowledge  with  us 
that  Jesus  was  born  of  a  virgin,  or  deny  this,  and  maintain 
that  He  was  begotten  like  other  human   beings, — what  does 

^  2  Tim.  i.  3.  2  ix,  y-ctrxayAvvig. 


332  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

that  avail  by  way  of  charge  against  such  as  belong  to  the 
church,  and  whom  Celsus  has  styled  "those  of  the  multi- 
tude?"^ He  adds,  also,  that  certain  of  the  Christians  are 
believers  in  the  Sibyl,"  having  probably  misunderstood  some 
who  blamed  such  as  believed  in  the  existence  of  a  prophetic 
Sibyl,  and  termed  those  who  held  this  belief  Sibyllists. 

Chaptee  lxii. 

He  next  pours  down  upon  us  a  heap  of  names,  saying  that 
he  knows  of  the  existence  of  certain  Simonians  who  worship 
Helene,  or  Helenus,  as  their  teacher,  and  are  called  Helenians. 
But  it  has  escaped  the  notice  of  Celsus  that  the  Simonians  do 
not  at  all  acknowledge  Jesus  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  but  term 
Simon  the  "  power  "  of  God,  regarding  whom  they  relate  cer- 
tain marvellous  stories,  saying  that  he  imagined  that  if  he  could 
become  possessed  of  similar  powers  to  those  with  which  he 
believed  Jesus  to  be  endowed,  he  too  would  become  as  power- 
ful amonij  men  as  Jesus  was  amono;st  the  multitude.  But 
neither  Celsus  nor  Simon  could  comprehend  how  Jesus,  like  a 
good  husbandman  of  the  word  of  God,  was  able  to  sow  the 
greater  part  of  Greece,  and  of  barbarian  lands,  with  His 
doctrine,  and  to  fill  these  countries  with  words  which  transform 
the  soul  from  all  that  is  evil,  and  bring  it  back  to  the  Creator 
of  all  things.  Celsus  knows,  moreover,  certain  Marcellians, 
so  called  from  Marcellina,  and  Plarpocratians  from  Salome, 
and  others  who  derive  their  name  from  Mariamne,  and  others 
again  from  Martha.     We,  however,  who  from  a  love  of  learn- 

Iing  examine  to  the  utmost  of  our  ability  not  only  the  contents 
of  Scripture,  and  the  differences  to  Avhich  they  give  rise,  but 
have  also,  from  love  to  the  truth,  investigated  as  far  as  we 
could  the  opinions  of  philosophers,  have  never  at  any  time 
met  in  with  these  sects.  He  makes  mention  also  of  the  Mar- 
cionites,  whose  leader  was  Marcion. 

Chapter  lxiii 

In  the  next  place,  that  he  may  have  the  appearance  of 
knowing  still  more  than  he  has  yet  mentioned,  he  says,  agree- 
ably to  his  usual  custom,  that  "there  are  others  Avho  have 

^  0.7:0  TW  7r'h'/i@ovg.  ^  '^tfivT^'KiaToi.s. 


Book  v.]  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSVS.  333 

wickedly  invented  some  being  as  their  teacher  and  demon, 
and  who  wallow  about  in  a  great  darkness,  more  unholy  and 
accursed  than  that  of  the  companions  of  the  Egyptian  Anti- 
nous."  And  he  seems  to  me,  indeed,  in  touching  on  these 
matters,  to  say  with  a  certain  degree  of  truth,  that  there  are 
certain  others  who  have  wickedly  invented  another  demon,  and 
who  have  found  him  to  be  their  lord,  as  they  wallow  about  in  the 
great  darkness  of  their  ignorance.  With  respect,  however,  to 
Antinous,  who  is  compared  with  our  Jesus,  we  shall  not  repeat 
what  we  have  already  said  in  the  preceding  pages.  "  More- 
over," he  continues,  "  these  persons  utter  against  one  another 
dreadful  blasphemies,  saying  all  manner  of  things  shameful 
to  be  spoken ;  nor  will  they  yield  in  the  slightest  point  for  the 
sake  of  harmony,  hating  each  other  with  a  perfect  hatred." 
Now,  in  answer  to  this,  we  have  already  said  that  in  philosophy 
and  medicine  sects  are  to  be  found  warrina  against  sects.  We, 
however,  who  are  followers  of  the  word  of  Jesus,  and  have 
exercised  ourselves  in  thinking,  and  saying,  and  doing  what  is 
in  harmony  with  His  words,  "  when  reviled,  bless ;  being  perse- 
cuted, we  suffer  it ;  being  defamed,  we  entreat ;"  -^  and  we  would 
\not  utter  "  all  manner  of  things  shameful  to  be  spoken"  against 
I  those  who  have  adopted  different  opinions  from  ours,  but,  if 
/possible,  use  every  exertion  to  raise  them  to  a  better  condition 
f  through  adherence  to  the  Creator  alone,  and  lead  them  to 
•  perform  every  act  as  those  who  will  [one  day]  be  judged.  And 
if  those  who  hold  different  opinions  will  not  be  convinced,  we 
observe  the  injunction  laid  down  for  the  treatment  of  such  : 
"  A  man  that  is  a  heretic,  after  the  first  and  second  admonition, 
reject,  knowing  that  he  that  is  such  is  subverted,  and  sinneth, 
being  condemned  of  himself.""  Moreover,  we  who  know 
the  maxim,  "  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers,"  and  this  also, 
"  Blessed  are  the  meek,"  would  not  regard  with  hatred  the 
corrupters  of  Christianity,  nor  term  those  w^io  had  fallen  into 
error  Circes  and  flattering  deceivers.^ 

Chapter  lxiv. 
Celsus  appears  to  me  to  have  misunderstood  the  statement  of 
1  1  Cor.  iv.  12,  13.  -  Tit.  iii.  10. 


334  OrJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  v. 

the  apostle,  which  declares  that  '•  in  the  latter  times  some  shall 
depart  from  the  faith,  giving  heed  to  seducing  spirits  and 
doctrines  of  devils,  speaking  lies  in  hypocrisy,  having  their  con- 
science seared  with  a  hot  iron,  forbidding  to  marry,  and  com- 
manding to  abstain  from  meats,  which  God  hath  created  to  be 
received  with  thanksgiving  of  them  who  believe;"^  and  to  have 
misunderstood  also  those  who  employed  these  declarations  of 
the  apostle  against  such  as  had  corrupted  the  doctrines  of 
Christianity.  And  it  is  owing  to  this  cause  that  Celsus  has 
said  that  "  certain  among  the  Christians  are  called  '  cauterized 
in  the  ears ;'  "^  and  also  that  some  are  termed  "  enigmas,"^ — a 
term  which  we  have  never  met.  The  expression  "  stumbling- 
block"*  is,  indeed,  of  frequent  occurrence  in  these  writings, — 
an  appellation  which  we  are  accustomed  to  apply  to  those  who 
turn  away  simple  persons,  and  those  who  are  easily  deceived, 
from  sound  doctrine.  But  neither  we,  nor,  I  imagine,  any 
other,  Avhether  Christian  or  heretic,  know  of  any  who  are 
styled  Sirens,  who  betray  and  deceive,^  and  stop  their  ears, 
and  change  into  swine  those  whom  they  delude.  And  yet  this 
man,  who  affects  to  know  everything,  uses  such  language  as 
the  following :  ''  You  may  hear,"  he  says,  "  all  those  who 
differ  so  widely,  and  who  assail  each  other  in  their  disputes 
with  the  most  shameless  language,  uttering  the  words,  '  The 
world  is  crucified  to  me,  and  I  unto  the  world.' "  And  this  is 
the  only  phrase  which,  it  appears,  Celsus  could  remember  out 
of  Paul's  writings;  and  yet  why  should  we  not  also  employ 
innumerable  other  quotations  from  the  Scriptures,  such  as, 
"  For  though  we  do  walk  in  the  flesh,  we  do  not  war  after  the 
flesh  ;  (for  the  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but 
mighty  through  God  to  the  pulling  down  of  strongholds,)  cast- 
ing down  imaginations,  and  every  high  thing  that  exalteth  itself 
against  the  knowledge  of  God?  "° 

Chapter  lxv. 
But  since  he  asserts  that  ''  you  may  hear  all  those  who  differ 

1  Cf.  1  Tim.  iv.  1-3. 

2  d.x.(,^i  xetvaT'^pix.     Cf.  note  in  Benedictine  ed. 
®  uiviyuxrx.     Cf.  note  in  Benedictine  ed. 

*  GKxuQccAov.  *  i^op)(,M^ivui  x.ccl  ffoip/aT/s/fltf.  ^  Cf.  2  Cor.  z.  3. 


Book  v.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  335 

so  widely  saying,  '  The  Avorlcl  is  crucified  to  me,  and  I  unto  the 
world/  "  we  shall  show  the  falsity  of  such  a  statement.  For 
there  are  certain  heretical  sects  which  do  not  receive  the 
epistles  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  as  the  two  sects  of  Ebionites,  and 
those  who  are  termed  Encratites.  Those,  then,  who  do  not 
regard  the  apostle  as  a  holy  and  wise  man,  will  not  adopt  his 
language,  and  say,  "  The  world  is  crucified  to  me,  and  I  unto 
the  world."  And  consequently  in  this  point,  too,  Celsus  is 
guilty  of  falsehood.  He  continues,  moreover,  to  linger  over  the 
accusations  which  he  brings  against  the  diversity  of  sects  which 
exist,  but  does  not  appear  to  "me  to  be  accurate  in  the  language 
which  he  employs,  nor  to  have  carefully  observed  or  understood 
how  it  is  that  those  Christians  who  have  made  progress  in  their 
studies  say  that  they  are  possessed  of  greater  knowledge  than 
the  Jews  ;  and  also,  whether  they  acknowledge  the  same  Scrip- 
tures, but  interpret  them  differently,  or  whether  they  do  not 
recognise  these  books  as  divine.  For  we  find  both  of  these  views 
prevailing  among  the  sects.  He  then  continues :  "  Although 
they  have  no  foundation  for  their  doctrine,  let  us  examine 
the  system  itself ;  and,  in  the  first  place,  let  us  mention  the 
corruptions  which  they  have  made  through  ignorance  and  mis- 
understanding, when  in  the  discussion  of  elementary  principles 
they  express  their  opinions  in  the  most  absurd  manner  on  things 
which  they  do  not  understand,  such  as  the  following."  And 
then,  to  certain  expressions  which  are  continually  in  the  mouths 
of  the  believers  in  Christianity,  he  opposes  certain  others  from 
the  writings  of  the  philosophers,  with  the  object  of  making  it 
appear  that  the  noble  sentiments  which  Celsus  supposes  to  be 
used  by  Christians  have  been  expressed  in  better  and  clearer 
language  by  the  philosophers,  in  order  that  he  might  drag 
away  to  the  study  of  philosophy  those  who  are  caught  by 
opinions  which  at  once  evidence  their  noble  and  religious 
character.  We  shall,  however,  here  terminate  the  fifth  book, 
and  begin  the  sixth  with  what  follows. 


BOOK  YI. 
Chapter  i. 

N  beginning  tliis  our  sixth  book,  we  desire,  my 
reverend  Ambrosius,  to  answer  in  it  those  accusa- 
tions which  Celsus  brings  against  the  Christians^ 
not,  as  might  be  supposed,  those  objections  which 
he  has  adduced  from  writers  on  pldlosophy.  For  he  has  quoted 
a  considerable  number  of  passages,  cliiefly  from  Plato,  and  has 
placed  alongside  of  these  such  declarations  of  Holy  Scripture 
as  are  fitted  to  impress  even  the  intelligent  mind ;  subjoining 
the  assertion,  that  "  these  things  are  stated  much  better  among 
the  Greeks  [than  in  the  Scriptures],  and  in  a  manner  which  is 
free  from  all  exaggerations^  and  promises  on  the  part  of  God, 
or  the  Son  of  God."  Now  we  maintain,  that  if  it  is  the 
object  of  the  ambassadors  of  the  truth  to  confer  benefits  upon 
the  greatest  possible  number,  and,  so  far  as  they  can,  to  win 
over  to  its  side,  through  their  love  to  men,  every  one  without 
exception — intelligent  as  well  as  simple — not  Greeks  only,  but 
also  barbarians  (and  great,  indeed,  is  the  humanity  which  should 
succeed  in  converting  the  rustic  and  the  ignorant'),  it  is  mani- 
fest that  they  must  adopt  a  style  of  address  fitted  to  do  good 
to  all,  and  to  gain  over  to  them  men  of  every  sort.  Those,  on 
the  other  hand,  who  turn  away'  from  the  ignorant  as  being 
mere  slaves,*  and  unable  to  understand  the  flowing  periods  of  a 
polished  and  logical  discourse,  and  so  devote  their  attention  solely 
to  such  as  have  been  brought  up  amongst  literary  pursuits,^ 

^  dvarctGiu;. 

-  "TTO'Kv  Oi  TO  '/jfispo!/  iccv   .   .   .   o'lo;  Tt  Ti;  •yiUYircii  i'7:riaTpi^itv. 

"  TToXXot  y^ottpnv  0poe,acc'jrs(;.  *  o.'jQpoe.rTooot?. 

'■  y,cc\   fi')j  o'lQi;  n   KXTce.x,oviiv  ri;;  iv  <f pecan   'hoyuv  y.ot.1  rdc^ii  ec-Jtw/ysXT^o- 

836 


Book  VI. J  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  S3 7 

confine  their  views  of  tlie  public  good  within  very  strait  and 
narrow  limits. 

Chapter  it, 

I  have  made  these  remarks  in  reply  to  the  charges  which 
Celsus  and  others  bring  against  the  simplicity  of  the  language 
of  Scripture,  which  appears  to  be  thrown  into  the  shade  by  the 
splendour  of  polished  discourse.  For  our  prophets,  and  Jesus 
Himself,  and  His  apostles,  were  careful  to  adopt  ^  a  style  of 
address  which  should  not  merely  convey  the  truth,  but  which 
should  be  fitted  to  gain  over  the  multitude,  until  each  one, 
attracted  and  led  onwards,  should  ascend  as  far  as  he  could 
towards  the  comprehension  of  those  mysteries  which  are  con- 
tained in  these  apparently  simple  words.  For,  if  I  may  venture 
to  say  so,  few  have  been  benefited  (if  they  have  indeed  been 
benefited  at  all)  by  the  beautiful  and  polished  style  of  Plato,  and 
those  who  have  written  like  him  ;  while,  on  the  contrary,  many 
have  received  advantage  from  those  who  wrote  and  taught  in  a 
simple  and  practical  manner,  and  with  a  view  to  the  wants  of 
:  the  multitude.  It  is  easy,  indeed,  to  observe  that  Plato  is  found 
only  in  the  hands  of  those  who  profess  to  be  literary  men ;  '^ 
while  Epictetus  is  admired  by  persons  of  ordinary  capacity,  ■ 
who  have  a  desire  to  be  benefited,  and  who  perceive  the  im-  ^ 
provement  which  may  be  derived  from  his  writings.  Now  we 
make  these  remarks,  not  to  disparage  Plato  (for  the  great  world 
of  men  has  found  even  him  useful),  but  to  point  out  the  aim 
of  those  who  said  :  "  And  my  speech  and  my  preaching  was  not 
with  enticing  words  of  man's  wisdom,  but  in  demonstration  of 
the  Spirit  and  of  power,  that  our  faith  should  not  stand  in  the 
wisdom  of  men,  but  in  the  power  of  God." '''  For  the  word  of 
God  declares  that  the  preaching  (although  in  itself  true  and 
most  worthy  of  belief)  is  not  sufiicient  to  reach  the  human 
heart,  unless  a  certain  power  be  imparted  to  the  speaker  from  ^ 
God,  and  a  grace  appear  upon  his  words ;  andjt  is  only  by  the 
divine  agency  that  this  takes  place  in  those  -who  speak  effectu- 
ally. The  prophet  says  in  the  sixty-seventh  Psalm,  that  "  the 
Lord  will  give  a  word  with  great  power  to  them  who  preach."  * 

^  iviiZov.  ^  <pi'Ko'Krj'-/oiv.  ^  \  Qor.  ii.  4,  5. 

*  Such  is  the  reading  of  the  Septuagint  version.     The  Masoretic  text  has  : 
OKIG. — VOL.  II.  Y 


338  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

If,  then,  it  should  be  granted  with  respect  to  certain  points, 
that  the  same  doctrines  are  found  among  the  Greeks  as  in  our 
own  Scriptures,  yet  they  do  not  possess  the  same  power  of 
attracting  and  disposing  the  souls  of  men  to  follow  them.  And 
therefore  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  men  ignorant  so  far  as  regards 
Grecian  philosophy,  yet  traversed  many  countries  of  the  world, 
impressing,  agreeably  to  the  desire  of  the  Logos,  each  one  of 
their  hearers  according  to  his  deserts,  so  that  they  received  a 
moral  amelioration  in  proportion  to  the  inclination  of  their  will 
to  accept  of  that  wliich  is  good. 

Chapter  hi. 

Let  the  ancient  sages,  then,  make  known  their  sayings  to 
those  who  are  capable  of  understanding  them.  Suppose  that 
Plato,  for  example,  the  son  of  Ariston,  in  one  of  his  Epistles, 
is  discoursing  about  the  ''  chief  good,"  and  that  he  says,  "  The 
chief  good  can  by  no  means  be  described  in  words,  but  is  pro- 
duced by  long  habit,  and  bursts  forth  suddenly  as  a  light  in  the 
soul,  as  from  a  fire  which  had  leapt  forth."  We,  then,  on  hear- 
ing these  words,  admit  that  they  are  well  said,  for  it  is  God 
-who  revealed  to  men  these  as  well  as  all  other  noble  expressions. 
And  for  this  reason  it  is  that  we  maintain  that  those  who  have 
entertained  correct  ideas  recrardins  God,  but  who  have  not 
\  offered  to  Him  a  worship  in  harmony  with  the  truth,  are  liable 
to  the  punishments  which  fall  on  sinners.  For  respecting  such 
Paul  says  in  express  words :  "  The  wrath  of  God  is  revealed 
from  heaven  against  all  ungodliness  and  unrighteousness  of 
men,  who  hold  the  truth  in  unrighteousness ;  because  that 
which  may  be  known  of  God  is  manifest  in  them  ;  for  God 
hath  showed  it  unto  them.  For  the  invisible  things  of  Him 
from  the  creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  under- 
stood by  the  things  that  are  made,  even  His  eternal  power  and 
Godhead  ;  so  that  they  are  without  excuse  :  because  that,  when 
they  knew  God,  they  glorified  Him  not  as  God,  neither  were 
thankful ;  but  became  vain  in  their  imaginations,  and  their 
foolish  heart  was  darkened.  Professing  themselves  to  be  wise, 
they  became  fools,  and  changed  the  glory  of  the  incorruptible 

"The  Lord  gave  a  word;  of  them  who  published  it  there  was  a  great 
host." 


Boor  VI.]  OlilGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  339 

God  into  an  image  mcicle  like  to  corruptible  man,  and  to  birds, 
and  four-footed  beasts,  and  creeping  things."  ^  The  truth,  then, 
is  verily  held  [in  unrighteousness],  as  our  Scriptures  testify, 
by  those  who  are  of  opinion  that  "  the  chief  good  cannot  be 
described  in  words,"  but  who  assert  that,  "  after  long  custom 
and  familiar  usage,^  a  light  becomes  suddenly  kindled  in  the 
soul,  as  if  by  a  fire  springing  forth,  and  that  it  now  supports 
itself  alone." 

Chapter  iv. 

Notwithstanding,  those  who  have  written  in  this  manner 
regarding  the  "  chief  good  "  will  go  down  to  the  Piraeus  and 
offer  prayer  to  Artemis,  as  if  she  were  God,  and  will  look 
[with  approval]  upon  the  solemn  assembly  held  by  ignorant 
I  men;  and  after  giving  utterance  to  philosophical  remarks  of 
such  profundity  regarding  the  soul,  and  describing  its  passage 
[to  a  happier  world]  after  a  virtuous  life,  they  pass  from  those 
great  topics  which  God  has  revealed  to  them,  and  adopt  mean 
and  trifling  thoughts,  and  offer  a  cock  to  Esculapius !  ^  And 
although  they  had  been  enabled  to  form  representations  both 
of  the  "invisible  things"  of  God  and  of  the  "archetypal 
forms  "  of  things  from  the  creation  of  the  world,  and  from  [the 
contemplation  of]  sensible  things,  from  which  they  ascend  to 
those  objects  which  are  comprehended  by  the  understanding 
alone,  —  and  although  they  had  no  mean  glimpses  of  His 
"eternal  power  and  Godhead,"^  they  nevertheless  became 
•'  foolish  in  their  imaginations,"  and  their  "  foolish  heart "  was 
involved  in  darkness  and  ignorance  as  to  the  [true]  worship  of 
Go-d.  Moreover,  we  may  see  those  who  greatly  pride  them- 
selves upon  their  wisdom  and  theology  worshipping  the  image 
of  a  corruptible  man,  in  honoiu\  they  say,  of  Him,  and  some- 
times even  descending,  with  the  Egyptians,  to  the  worship  of 
birds,    and  four-footed   beasts,    and   creeping  things !      And 

1  Cf.  Rom.  i.  18-23. 

^  iK  "j^ohy.Yii  avvovaiug  "/tvofii!/-/!;  'ttscI  to  TTpxyfid  c,vto,  kui  tov  cv^r.v. 

3  Cf.  riato,  Phxdo. 

^  y,ccl  Tci  dopotru  rov  Qiov,  xoil  raj  /SJosj  (pcmrccaSivrs;  u.'tto  rvji  x-Tiasui  roli 
xiay-ov,  -/iul  ruu  ulaSriTOJV,,  d<p  Lu  dvuiixiuovaiv  l^(  ra  voovfiei/ct'  t/ju  n  dtdio-j 
avTci/  ovuxfiiii  Kctl  6z6Tr,rx  ovk  dyiuuug  tdovTs;,  etc. 


340  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

although  some  may  appear  to  have  rison  above  such  practices, 
nevertheless  they  will  be  found  to  have  changed  the  truth  of 
God  into  a  lie,  and  to  worship  and  serve  the  "  creature  more 
than  the  Creator."  ^  As  the  wise  and  learned  among  the  Greeks, 
then,  commit  errors  in  the  service  which  they  render  to  God, 
God  "  chose  the  foolish  thine-s  of  the  world  to  confound  the 
wise  ;  and  base  things  of  the  world,  and  things  that  are  weak, 
and  things  which  are  despised,  and  things  whicli  are  not,  to 
bring  to  nought  things  that  are  ;  "  ^  and  this,  truly,  "  that  no 
flesh  should  glory  in  the  presence  of  God."  Our  wise  men, 
however, — Moses,  the  most  ancient  of  them  all,  and  the  pro- 
phets who  followed  him, — knowing  that  the  chief  good  could 
by  no  means  be  described  in  words,  were  the  first  who  wrote 
that,  as  God  manifests  Himself  to  the  deserving,  and  to  those 
who  are  qualified  to  behold  Him,^  He  appeared  to  Abraham, 
or  to  Isaac,  or  to  Jacob.  But  who  He  M-as  that  appeared,  and 
of  what  form,  and  in  M'hat  manner,  and  like  to  which  of  mortal 
beings,*  they  have  left  to  be  investigated  by  those  who  are 
able  to  show  that  they  resemble  those  persons  to  whom  God 
\  showed  Himself:  for  He  was  seen  not  by  their  bodily  eyes, 
'  but  by  the  pure  heart.  For,  according  to  the  declaration  of 
our  Jesus,  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see 
God."^ 

Chapter  v. 

But  that  a  light  is  suddenly  kindled  in  the  soul,  as  by  a  fire 
leaping  forth,  is  a  fact  known  long  ago  to  our  Scriptures ;  as 
when  the  prophet  said,  "  Light  ye  for  yourselves  the  light  of 
knowledge."  ^  John  also,  who  lived  after  him,  said,  "  That 
which  was  in  the  Logos  was  life,  and  the  life  was  the  light  of 

1  Rom.  i.  25.  -  Cf.  1  Cor.  i.  27,  28,  29. 

"    STTITriOSIOi;. 

*  Koil  Tivt  ruv  iv  iiiich.  Boherellus  understands  o,mo/oc,  whicli  lias  been 
adopted  in  the  translation. 

5  Cf.  Matt.  V.  8. 

"  Hos.  X.  12.  (pwT<cr«T£  socvTolg  (pcog  yvuffsus  (LXX.).  The  Masoretic 
text  is,  nyi  l^'i  D3^  1"T'3,  where  for  nyi  («"c^  time)  the  Septuagiut  translator 
apparently  read  riJJT  (knowledge'),  1  and  1  being  interchanged  from  their 
similarity. 


Book  VI.]  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  341 

men  ;  "  ^  which  "  true  liglit  lightencth  every  man  that  comoth 
into  the  world"  {i.e.  the  true  world,  which  is  perceived  by  the 
understanding  "),  and  maketh  him  a  light  of  the  world :  "  For 
this  light  shone  in  our  hearts,  to  give  tlie  light  of  the  glorious 
gospel  of  God  in  the  face  of  Christ  Jesus."  ^  And  therefore 
that  very  ancient  prophet,  who  prophesied  many  generations 
before  the  reign  of  Cyrus  (for  he  was  older  than  he  by  more 
than  fourteen  generations),  expressed  himself  in  these  words : 
"  The  Lord  is  my  light  and  my  salvation  :  whom  shall  I  fear  V'^ 
and,  "  Thy  law  is  a  lamp  unto  my  feet,  and  a  light  unto  my 
path  ;  "  ^  and  again,  "  The  light  of  Thy  countenance,  O  Lord, 
was  manifested  towards  us  ;  "  '^  and,  "  In  Thy  light  we  shall 
see  light."  "  And  the  Logos,  exhorting  us  to  come  to  this 
light,  says,  in  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah  :  "  Enlighten  thyself, 
enlighten  thyself,  O  Jerusalem ;  for  thy  light  is  come,  and  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee."  ^  The  same  prophet 
also,  when  predicting  the  advent  of  Jesus,  who  was  to  turn 
away  men  from  the  worship  of  idols,  and  of  images,  and  of 
demons,  says,  "  To  those  that  sat  in  the  land  and  shadow  of 
death,  upon  them  hath  the  light  arisen  ; "  ^  and  again,  ''  The 
people  that  sat  in  darkness  saw  a  great  light."  ^^  Observe  now 
the  difference  between  the  fine  phrases  of  Plato  respecting  the 
"  chief  good,"  and  the  dedarations  of  our  prophets  regarding 
•the  "light"  of  the  blessed;  and  notice  that  the  truth  as  it  is 
contained  in  Plato  concerning  this  subject  did  not  at  all  help 
his  readers  to  attain  to  a  pure  worship  of  God,  nor  even  him- 
self, who  could  philosophize  so  grandly  about  the  "  chief  good," 
whereas  the  simple  language  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  has  led  to 
their  honest  readers  being  filled  wath  a  divine  spirit  ;^^  and  this 
light  is  nourished  within  them  by  the  oil,  which  in  a  certain 
parable  is  said  to  have  preserved  the  light  of  the  torches  of  the 
five  wise  virgins.-'^ 

^  Cf.  John  i.  3,  4.  '■^  t6v  oLMdifou  y,u.\  vov.-ov.  ^  Cf.  2  Cor.  iv.  6. 

4  Ps.  xxvii.  1  (attributed  to  David).  ^  Ps.  cxix.  105. 

«  Ps.  iv.  6  (Heb.  "  Lift  upon  us,"  etc.).  '  Ps.  xxxvi.  9. 

8  Cf.  Isa.  Ix.  1.  9  Cf.  Isa.  ix.  2.  ^^  Cf.  Isa.  ix.  2. 

ii  hSovGiH-j.  12  cf_  ;^^att.  XXV.  4. 


342  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

Chapter  vi. 

Seeing,  however,  that  Celsus  quotes  from  an  epistle  of  Plato 
another  statement  to  the  following  effect,  viz. :  "  If  it  appeared 
to  me  that  these  matters  could  be  adequately  explained  to  the 
multitude  in  writing  and  in  oral  address,  what  nobler  pursuit 
in  life  could  have  been  followed  by  me,  than  to  commit  to 
writing  what  was  to  prove  of  such  advantage  to  human  beings, 
and  to  lead  the  nature  of  all  men  onwards  to  the  hVlit  ?  " — let  us 

O 

then  consider  this  point  briefly,  viz.  whether  or  not  Plato  were 
acquainted  with  any  doctrines  more  profound  than  are  con- 
tained in  his  writings,  or  more  divine  than  those  which  he  has 
left  behind  him,  leaving  it  to  each  one  to  investigate  the  subject 
according  to  his  ability,  while  we  demonstrate  that  our  prophets 
did  know  of  greater  things  than  any  in  the  Scriptures,  but  which 
they  did  not  commit  to  writing.  Ezekiel,  e.g.,  received  a  roll,^ 
written  within  and  without,  in  which  were  contained  "  lamen- 
tations," and  "  songs,"  and  "  denunciations  ;"^  but  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  Logos  he  swallowed  the  book,  in  order  that  its 
contents  might  not  be  written,  and  so  made  known  to  unworthy 
persons.  John  also  is  recorded  to  have  seen  and  done  a  similar 
thing.^  N^y?  Paul  even  heard  "  unspeakable  words,  whicli  it 
is  not  lawful  for  a  man  to  utter."'*  And  it  is  related  of  Jesus, 
who  was  greater  than  all  these,  that  He  conversed  with  His 
disciples  in  private,  and  especially  in  their  secret  retreats,  con- 
cerning the  gospel  of  God;  but  the  words  which  He  uttered 
have  not  been  preserved,  because  it  appeared  to  the  evangelists 
that  they  could  not  be  adequately  conveyed  to  the  multitude  in 
writing  or  in  speech.  And  if  it  were  not  tiresome  to  repeat 
the  truth  regarding  these  illustrious  individuals,  I  would  say 
that  they  saw  better  than  Plato  (by  means  of  the  intelligence, 
which  they  received  by  the  grace  of  God),  what  things  were  to 
be  committed  to  meriting,  and  how  this  was  to  be  done,  and  what 
was  by  no  means  to  be  written  to  the  multitude,  and  what 
was  to  be  expressed  in  ivords,  and  what  was  not  to  be  so  con- 
veyed. And  once  more,  John,  in  teaching  us  the  difference 
between  what  ought  to  be  committed  to  writing  and  what  not, 

^  Kii^d'hi^ci  jiiit'hiov.  ^  o'jxi]  cf.  Ezek.  ii.  9,  10. 

3  Cf.  Apoc.  X.  9.  •  *  2  Cor.  xii.  4. 


i 


Book  VI.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  343 

declares  that  he  heard  seven  thunders  instructing  him  on  cer- 
tain matters,  and  forbidding  him  to  commit  their  words  to 
writing/ 

Chapter  vii. 

There-  might  also  be  found  in  the  writings  of  Moses  and  of 
the  prophets,  who  are  older  not  only  than  Plato,  but  even  than 
Homer  and  the  invention  of  letters  among  the  Greeks,  pas- 
sages worthy  of  the  grace  of  God  bestowed  upon  them,  and 
filled  with  great  thoughts,  to  which  they  gave  utterance,  but 
not  because  they  understood  Plato  imperfectly,  as  Celsus  ima- 
gines. For  how  was  it  possible  that  they  should  have  heard 
one  who  was  not  yet  born  ?  And  if  any  one  should  apply  the 
words  of  Celsus  to  the  apostles  of  Jesus,  who  were  younger 
than  Plato,  say  whether  it  is  not  on  the  very  face  of  it  an 
incredible  assertion,  that  Paul  the  tentmaker,  and  Peter  the 
fisherman,  and  John  who  left  his  father's  nets,  should,  through 
misunderstanding  the  language  of  Plato  in  his  Epistles,  have 
expressed  themselves  as  they  have  done  regarding  God  ?  But 
as  Celsus  now,  after  having  often  required  of  us  immediate 
assent  [to  his  views],  as  if  he  were  babbling  forth  something 
new  in  addition  to  what  he  has  already  advanced,  only  repeats 
himself,^  what  we  have  said  in  ^eply  may  suffice.  Seeing,  how- 
ever, he  produces  another  quotation  from  Plato,  in  which  he 
asserts  that  the  employment  of  the  method  of  question  and 
answer  sheds  light  on  the  thoughts  of  those  who  philosophize 
like  him,  let  us  show  from  the  Holy  Scriptures  that  the  word 
of  God  also  encourages  us  to  the  practice  of  dialectics  :  Solomon, 
e.g.,  declaring  in  one  passage,  that  "  instruction  unquestioned 
goes  astray;"^  and  Jesus  the  son  of  Sirach,  who  has  left  us 
the  treatise  called  "  Wisdom,"  declaring  in  another,  that  '*  the 
knowledge  of  the  unwise  is  as  words  that  will  not  stand  in- 

^  Cf.  Apoc.  X.  4. 

y.aivoy  r;  Trxpx  rd  Trporepou  ilpvif/Jvoi.  Guietus  thus  amends  the  passage  : 
voK'f.cix.is  Oi  Y)Oyi  6  KiT^aog  cl^tovfctvo;  siidiu;  TrtaTevsiv,  ai;  kxivou  ti  -Trctpot  t« 
^porspov  ilpviiAivx  dpvXJ^Tiax;,  etc.     Boherellus  ■would  change  ci^tovf4,ivov  into 

^  "TTcti^iiix,  cl'Ji'i,k7,iyKro;  T^T^ccyurui ;  cf.  Prov.  x.  17. 


344  OPdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

vestigation."^  Our  methods  of  discussion,  however,  are  rather 
of  a  gentle  kind ;  for  we  have  learned  that  he  who  presides 
over  the  preaching  of  the  word  ought  to  be  able  to  confute 
gainsayers.  But  if  some  continue  indolent,  and  do  not  train 
themselves  so  as  to  attend  to  the  reading  of  the  word,  and 
"  to  search  the  Scriptures,"  and,  agreeably  to  the  command  of 
Jesus,  to  investigate  the  meaning  of  the  sacred  writings,  and 
to  ask  of  God  concerning  them,  and  to  keep  "  knocking "  at 
what  may  be  closed  within  them,  the  Scripture  is  not  on  that 
account  to  be  regarded  as  devoid  of  wisdom. 

Chapter  viii. 

In  the  next  place,  after  other  Platonic  declarations,  which 
demonstrate  that  "  the  good  "  can  be  known  by  few,  he  adds  : 
"  Since  the  multitude,  being  puffed  up  with  a  contempt  for 
others,  which  is  far  from  right,  and  being  filled  with  vain  and 
lofty  hopes,  assert  that,  because  they  have  come  to  the  know- 
ledge of  some  venerable  doctrines,  certain  things  are  true." 
"  Yet  although  Plato  predicted  these  things,  he  nevertheless  does 
not  talk  marvels,"^  nor  shut  the  mouth  of  those  who  wish  to  ask 
him  for  information  on  the  subject  of  his  promises ;  nor  does 
he  command  them  to  come  at  once  and  believe  that  a  God  of  a 
particular  kind  exists,  and  that  he  has  a  son  of  a  particular 
nature,  who  descended  [to  eartli]  and  conversed  with  me." 
Now,  in  answer  to  this  we  have  to  say,  that  with  regard  to 
Plato,  it  is  Aristander,  I  think,  who  has  related  that  he  was  not 
the  son  of  Ariston,  but  of  a  phantom,  which  approached  Am- 
pliictione  in  the  guise  of  Apollo.  And  there  are  several  other 
of  the  followers  of  Plato  wlio,  in  their  lives  of  their  master, 
have  made  the  same  statement.  What  are  we  to  say,  more- 
over, about  Pythagoras,  who  relates  the  greatest  possible 
amount  of  wonders,  and  who,  in  a  general  assembly  of  the 
Greeks,  showed  his  ivory  thigh,  and  asserted  that  he  recognised 
the  shield  which  he  wore  when  he  was  Euphorbus,  and  who  is 
said  to  have  appeared  on  one  day  in  two  different  cities  ! 
He,  moreover,  who  will  declare  that  what  is  related  of  Plato 
and  Socrates  belongs  to  the  marvellous,  will  quote  the  story  of 

•*  yjuni;  duvuirov,  ccOie^irxaTOi  'Aoyoi ;   cf.  Ecclus.  xxi.  18. 


2 


iiUTiVirUI. 


Book  vi.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  345 

the  swan  wliicli  was  recommended  to  Socrates  wliile  he  was 
asleep,  and  of  the  master  saying  when  he  met  the  young  man, 
"  This,  then,  was  the  swan  !  "^  Nay,  the  third  eye  which  Plato 
saw  that  he  liimself  possessed,  he  will  refer  to  the  category  of 
prodigies.^  But  occasion  for  slanderous  accusations  ■will  never 
be  wanting  to  those  who  are  ill-disposed,  and  who  wish  to  speak 
evil  of  what  has  happened  to  such  as  are  raised  above  the 
multitude.  Such  persons  will  deride  as  a  fiction  even  the 
demon  of  Socrates.  We  do  not,  then,  relate  marvels  when  we 
narrate  the  history  of  Jesus,  nor  have  His  genuine  disciples 
recorded  any  such  stories  of  Him  ;  whereas  this  Celsus,  who 
professes  universal  knowledge,  and  who  quotes  many  of  the 
sayings  of  Plato,  is,  I  think,  intentionally  silent  on  the  dis- 
course concerning  the  Son  of  God  which  is  related  in  Plato's 
epistle  to  Hermeas  and  Coriscus.  Plato's  words  are  as  follows  : 
"  And  calling  to  witness  the  God  of  all  thinfjs — the  I'uler  both 
of  things  present  and  things  to  come,  father  and  lord  both  of 
the  ruler  and  cause — whom,  if  we  are  philosophers  indeed,  we 
shall  all  clearly  know,  so  far  as  it  is  possible  for  happy  human 
bein2;s  to  attain  such  kuowledsje."  ^ 

Chapter  ix. 

Celsus  quotes  another  saying  of  Plato  to  the  following 
effect :  "  It  has  occurred  to  me  to  speak  once  more  upon  these 
subjects  at  greater  length,  as  perhaps  I  might  express  my- 
self about  them  more  clearly  than  I  have  already  done :  for 
there  is  a  certain  'real'  cause,  which  proves  a  hindrance  in  the 
way  of  him  who  has  ventured,  even  to  a  slight  extent,  to  write 
on  such  topics  ;  and  as  this  has  been  frequently  mentioned  by 
me  on  former  occasions,  it  appears  to  me  that  it  ought  to  be 
stated  now.  In  each  of  existing  things,  which  are  necessarily 
employed  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  there  are  three  ele- 

^  The  night  before  Ariston  brouglit  Plato  to  Socrates  as  his  pupil,  the 
latter  dreamed  that  a  swan  from  the  altar  of  Cupid  alighted  on  his  bosom. 
Cf.  Pausanias  in  Atticis,  p.  58. 

-  "  Alicubi  forsau  occurrit :  me  vero  uspiam  legisse  non  memiui.  Credo 
Platonera  per  tertium  oculum  suam  •rro'A-jy.ix.^iiu'j  et  scientiam,  qua  ceteris 
antcibat,  deuotare  voluisse." — Spexcek. 

2  Plato,  Epist.  vi. 


346  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

ments ;  knowledge  itself  is  the  fourth ;  and  that  ought  to  be 
laid  down  as  the  fifth  which  is  botli  capable  of  being  known 
and  is  true.  Of  these,  one  is  '  name  ;'  the  second  is  '  word  ;' 
the  third,  '  image  ;'  the  fourth,  '  knowledge.' "  ^  Now,  accord- 
ing to  this  division,  John  is  introduced  before  Jesus  as  the 
voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness,  so  as  to  correspond  with 
the  "  name "  of  Plato ;  and  the  second  after  John,  who  is 
pointed  out  by  him,  is  Jesus,  with  whom  agrees  the  statement, 
"  The  Word  became  flesh,"  and  that  corresponds  to  the  "^Yord" 
of  Plato.  Plato  terms  the  third  "  image ;"  but  we,  who  apply 
the  expression  "image"  to  something  different,  would  say 
with  greater  precision,  that  the  mark  of  the  wounds  which  is 
made  in  the  soul  by  the  word  is  the  Christ  which  is  in  each 
one  of  us,  and  this  mark  is  impressed  by  Christ  the  Word.^ 
And  whether  Christ,  the  wisdom  which  is  in  those  of  us 
who  are  perfect,  correspond  to  the  "  fourth  "  element — know- 
ledge— will  become  known  to  him  who  has  the  capacity  to 
ascertain  it. 

Chapter  x. 

He  next  continues :  "  You  see  how  Plato,  although  main- 
taining that  [the  chief  good]  cannot  be  described  in  words,  yet, 
to  avoid  the  appearance  of  retreating  to  an  irrefutable  position, 
subjoins  a  reason  in  explanation  of  this  difficulty,  as  even 
'nothing'^  might  perhaps  be  explained  in  words."  But  as 
Celsus  adduces  this  to  prove  that  we  ought  not  to  yield  a 
simple  assent,  but  to  furnish  a  reason  for  our  belief,  we  shall 
quote  also  the  words  of  Paul,  where  he  says,  in  censuring  the 
hasty ^  believer,  "unless  ye  have  believed  inconsiderately."^ 
Now,  through  his  practice  of  repeating  himself,  Celsus,  so  far 
as  he  can,  forces  us  to  be  guilty  of  tautology,  reiterating,  after 
the  boastful  language  Avhich  has  been  quoted,  that  "  Plato  is 
not  guilty  of  boasting  and  falsehood,  giving  out  that  he  has 
made  some  new  discovery,  or  that  he  has  come  down  from 

^  uv  'in  y-i'j^  (iyo(Aa,'  Oevrepov  Ss,  T^oyo;'  ro  0£   rphou,  si'CuXov'  to  ri-raprov  os, 

I'T^tdTYll/.n. 

^  TpuvoTipov  (p'/i(/0f4.sv  Iv  T>5  '^v-)(,ri  •yivoftsvov  fisrct  rov  T^oyov  ruv  zpavy.ce.ruu 
TVTrciy,  toZtov  uvxi  rdy  Iv  ix-uart-y  'XpiaTOf,  ««&  'KptaToi)  T^uyttv. 

"  TO  c/./fi'yj.  ■*  il-/.7i  TTwrevovTi.  ^  1  Cor.  XV.  2. 


Book  VI.]  OrJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  347 

heaven  to  announce  it,  but  acknowledges  whence  these  state- 
ments are  derived."  Now,  if  one  wished  to  reply  to  Celsus, 
one  might  say  in  answer  to  such  assertions,  that  even  Plato  is 
guilty  of  boasting,  when  in  the  Timceus  he  puts  the  following 
language  in  the  mouth  of  Zeus :  "  Gods  of  gods,  whose  creator 
and  father  I  am,"  and  so  on.  And  if  any  one  will  defend  such 
language  on  account  of  the  meaning  which  is  conveyed  under 
the  name  of  Zeus,  thus  speaking  in  the  dialogue  of  Plato,  why 
should  not  he  who  investigates  the  meaning  of  the  words  of  the 
Son  of  God,  or  those  of  the  Creator^  in  the  prophets,  express  a 
profounder  meaning  than  any  conveyed  by  the  words  of  Zeus 
in  the  Timceus?  For  the  characteristic  of  divinity  is  the  an- 
nouncement of  future  events,  predicted  not  by  human  power, 
but  shown  by  the  result  to  be  due  to  a  di^dne  spirit  in  him  who 
made  the  announcement.  Accordingly,  we  do  not  say  to  each 
of  our  hearers,  '•  Believe,  first  of  all,  that  He  whom  I  intro- 
duce to  thee  is  the  Son  of  God;"  but  we  put  the  gospel  before 
each  one,  as  his  character  and  disposition  may  fit  him  to  receive 
it,  inasmuch  as  we  have  learned  to  know  "  how  we  ought  to 
answer  every  man." '  And  there  are  some  who  are  capable  of 
receiving  nothing  more  than  an  exhortation  to  believe,  and  to 
these  we  address  that  alone ;  while  we  approach  others,  again, 
as  far  as  possible,  in  the  way  of  demonstration,  by  means  of 
question  and  answer.  Nor  do  we  at  all  say,  as  Celsus  scoff- 
ingly  alleges,  "  Believe  that  He  whom  I  introduce  to  thee  is 
the  Son  of  God,  although  He  was  shamefully  bound,  and  dis- 
gracefully punished,  and  very  recently  ^  was  most  contume- 
liously  treated  before  the  eyes  of  all  men ;"  neither  do  we  add, 
"Believe  it  even  the  more  [on  that  account]."  For  it  is  our 
endeavour  to  state,  on  each  individual  point,  arguments  more 
numerous  even  than  we  have  brought  forward  in  the  preceding 
pages. 

Chapter  xt. 

After  this  Celsus  continues  :  "  If  these  (meaning  the  Chris- 
tians) bring  forward  this  person,  and  others,  again,  a  different 
individual  [as  the  Christ],  M-hile  the  common  and  ready  cry  ■*  of 

^  rov  oriUiovcyov.  ^  Cf.  Col.  iv.  6.  ^  yc^i;  xul  -pu/iv. 

*  KOiviv  oi  ■rrocvroiu  ij  y,tx.l  -rrpi-^itpov.     For  -</',  Boherellus  reads  fi. 


348  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

all  parties  is,  '  Believe,  if  thou  wilt  be  saved,  or  else  begone,' 
■what  shall  those  do  who  are  in  earnest  about  their  salvation? 
Shall  they  cast  the  dice,  in  order  to  divine  whither  they  may 
betake  themselves,  and  whom  they  shall  join?"  Now  we  shall 
answer  this  objection  in  the  following  manner,  as  the  clearness 
of  the  case  impels  us  to  do.  If  it  had  been  recorded  that 
several  individuals  had  appeared  in  human  life  as  sons  of  God 
in  the  manner  in  which  Jesus  did,  and  if  each  of  them  had 
drawn  a  party  of  adherents  to  his  side,  so  that,  on  account  of 
the  similarity  of  the  profession  [in  the  case  of  each  individual] 
that  he  was  the  Son  of  God,  he  to  whom  his  followers  bore 
testimony  to  that  effect  was  an  object  of  dispute,  there  would 
have  been  ground  for  his  saying,  "  If  these  bring  forward  this 
person,  and  others  a  different  individual,  while  the  common  and 
ready  cry  of  all  parties  is,  '  Believe,  if  thou  wilt  be  saved,  or 
else  begone,' "  and  so  on ;  whereas  it  has  been  proclaimed  to 
the  entire  world  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  Son  of  God  who 
visited  the  human  race :  for  those  who,  like  Celsus,  have  sup- 
posed that  [the  acts  of  Jesus]  were  a  series  of  prodigies,^  and 
who  for  that  reason  wished  to  perform  acts  of  the  same  kind," 
that  they,  too,  might  gain  a  similar  mastery  over  the  minds  of 
men,  were  convicted  of  being  utter  nonentities.^  Such  were 
Simon,  the  Magus  of  Samaria,  and  Dositheus,  who  was  a 
native  of  the  same  place ;  since  the  former  gave  out  that  he 
was  the  pow'er  of  God  that  is  called  great,*  and  the  latter  that 
he  was  the  Son  of  God.  Now  Simonians  are  found  nowhere 
throughout  the  world ;  and  yet,  in  order  to  gain  over  to  himself 
many  followers,  Simon  freed  his  disciples  from  the  danger  of 
death,  wdiicli  the  Christians  were  taught  to  prefer,  by  teach- 
ing them  to  regard  idolatry  as  a  matter  of  indifference.  But 
even  at  the  becinnins;  of  their  existence  the  followers  of  Simon 
were  not  exposed  to  persecution.  For  that  wicked  demon  who 
was  conspiring  against  the  doctrine  of  Jesus,  was  well  aware 
that  none  of  his  own  maxims  would  be  weakened  by  the  teach- 

^  0/  yoip  ofioiug  KiKau  vTTo'KaliovTig  TinpuTSvadxt.  The  word  6y,ota;  for- 
merly stood,  in  the  text  of  Spencer  and  Ruaeus,  before  nnpci-ivadui,  bufc 
is  propci'ly  expunged,  as  arising  from  the  preceding  ofcoiu;.  Bolierellus 
remarks :  "  Forte  aliud  quid  excidcrit,  verbi  gratia,  t«  toD   Iyicov." 

'  TipxTivauadxi.  3  ^^  o-joii/.  *  Cf.  Acts  viii.  10. 


Book  VI.]  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  349 

ing  of  Simon.  The  Dosltlieans,  again,  even  in  former  times, 
did  not  rise  to  any  eminence,  and  now  they  are  completely 
extinguished,  so  that  it  is  said  their  whole  number  does  not 
amount  to  thirty.  Judas  of  Galilee  also,  as  Luke  relates  in 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,^  wished  to  call  himself  some  great 
personage,  as  did  Theudas  before  him ;  but  as  their  doctrine  was 
not  of  God,  they  were  destroyed,  and  all  who  obeyed  them  were 
immediately  dispersed.  We  do  not,  then,  "cast  the  dice  in 
order  to  divine  whither  we  shall  betake  ourselves,  and  whom 
we  shall  join,"  as  if  there  were  many  claimants  able  to  draw  us 
after  them  by  the  profession  of  their  having  come  down  from 
God  to  visit  the  human  race.  On  these  points,  however,  we 
have  said  enou£!;h. 

Chapter  xii. 

Accordingly,  let  us  pass  on  to  another  charge  made  by 
Celsus,  who  is  not  even  acquainted  with  the  words  [of  our 
sacred  books],  but  who,  from  misunderstanding  them,  has  said 
that  "  we  declare  the  wisdom  that  is  among  men  to  be  foolish- 
ness with  God ; "  Paul  having  said  that  "  the  wisdom  of  the 
iL'orld  is  foolishness  with  God."  ^  Celsus  says  that  "  the  reason 
of  this  has  been  stated  long  ago."  And  the  reason  he  imagines 
to  be,  "  our  desire  to  win  over  by  means  of  this  saying  the 
ignorant  and  foolish  alone."  But,  as  he  himself  has  intimated, 
he  has  said  the  same  thing  before ;  and  we,  to  the  best  of  our 
ability,  replied  to  it.  Notwithstanding  this,  however,  he  wished 
to  show  that  this  statement  was  an  invention"  of  ouis,  and 
borrowed  from  the  Grecian  sages,  who  declare  that  human 
wisdom  is  of  one  kind,  and  divine  of  another.  And  he  quotes 
the  words  of  Heraclitus,  where  he  says  in  one  passage,  that 
"  man's  method  of  action  is  not  regulated  by  fixed  principles, 
but  that  of  God  is ;  "  ^  and  in  another,  that  "  a  foolish  man 
listens  to  a  demon,  as  a  boy  does  to  a  man."  He  quotes,  more- 
over, the  following  from  the  Apology  of  Socrates,  of  which 
Plato  was  the  author :  "  For  I,  O  men  of  Athens,  have  obtained 
this  name  by  no  other  means  than  by  my  wisdom.  And  of 
what  sort  is  this  wisdom  ?     Such,  probably,  as  is  human ;  for 

1  Cf.  Acts  V.  36,  37.  2  cf  1  Qq^.  ^h  19.  3  ^c^x«(r^4=>o>  iuh. 

*  rtdo;  yoip  duSpuTreiov  yAu  oi/K.  'iyji  yvuy.x;^  dsiov  os  'i/;,it. 


3b0  OPdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Boon  vi. 

in  that  respect  I  venture  to  think  that  I  am  in  reality  wise."  ^ 
Such  are  the  passages  adduced  bj  Celsus.  But  I  shall  subjoin 
also  the  foUoNving  from  Plato's  letter  to  Hermeas,  and  Erastus, 
and  Coriscus  :  "  To  Erastus  and  Coriscus  I  say,  although  I 
am  an  old  man,  that,  in  addition  to  this  noble  knowledge  of 
'  forms'  [which  they  possess],  they  need  a  wisdom,  with  regard 
to  the  class  of  wicked  and  unjust  persons,  which  may  serve  as 
a  protective  and  repelling  force  against  them.  For  they  are 
inexperienced,  in  consequence  of  having  passed  a  large  portion 
of  their  lives  with  us,  who  are  moderate^  individuals,  and  not 
wicked.  I  have  accordingly  said  that  they  need  these  things, 
in  order  that  they  may  not  be  compelled  to  neglect  the  true 
wisdom,  and  to  apply  themselves  in  a  greater  degree  than  is 
proper  to  that  ^vhich  is  necessary  and  human." 

Chapter  xiii. 

According  to  the  foregoing,  then,  the  one  kind  of  wisdom  is 
human,  and  the  other  divine.  Now  the  "human"  wisdom  is 
that  which  is  termed  by  us  the  wisdom  of  the  *'  world,"  which 
is  "  foolishness  with  God  ;  "  whereas  the  "  divine" — being  dif- 
ferent from  the  "human,"  because  it  is  "divine"  —  comes, 
through  the  grace  of  God  who  bestows  it,  to  those  who  have 
evinced  their  capacity  for  receiving  it,  and  especially  to  those 
who,  from  knowing  the  difference  between  either  kind  of  wis- 
dom, say,  in  their  prayers  to  God,  "  Even  if  one  among  the 
sons  of  men  be  perfect,  while  the  wisdom  is  wanting  that  comes 
from  Thee,  he  shall  be  accounted  as  nothing."  ^  We  maintain, 
indeed,  that  "human"  wisdom  is  an  exercise  for  the  soul,  but 
that  "divine"  wisdom  is  the  "end,"  being  also  termed  •  the 
"  strong"  meat  of  the  soul  by  him  who  has"  said  that  "  strong 
meat  belongeth  to  them  that  are  perfect,^  even  those  who  by 
reason  of  use  have  their  senses  exercised  to  discern  both  good 
and  evil."  ^  This  opinion,  moreover,  is  trul}'^  an  ancient  one, 
its  antiquity  not  being  referred  back,  as  Celsus  thinks,  merely 
to  Heraclitus  and  Plato.  For  before  these  individuals  lived, 
the  prophets  distinguished  between  the  two  kinds  of  wisdom. 
It  is  sufficient  for  the  present  to  quote  from  the  words  of  David 

1  Cf.  Plato's  Apolog.  ^  furplcov  otjruv.         ^  Cf.  Wisd.  of  Sol.  ix.  6. 

*  ri-Kiiot.  «  Heb.  V.  14. 


Book  vi.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  351 

what  he  says  regardhig  the  man  who  is  wise,  according  to  divine 
wisdom,  that  "  he  will  not  see  corruption  when  he  beholds  wise 
men  dying."  ^  Divine  wisdom,  accordingly,  being  different 
from  faith,  is  the  "first"  of  the  so-called  "charismata"  of  X 
God ;  and  the  "  second"  after  it — in  the  estimation  of  those 
who  know  how  to  distinguish  such  things  accurately — is  what 
is  called  "knowledge;"^  and  the  "third" — seeing  that  even 
the  more  simple  class  of  men  who  adhere  to  the  service  of  God, 
so  far  as  they  can,  must  be  saved — is  faith.  And  therefore 
Paul  says  :  "  To  one  is  given  by  the  Spirit  the  word  of  wisdom, 
to  another  the  word  of  knowledge  by  the  same  Spirit,  to  another 
faith  by  the  same  Spirit."  ^  And  therefore  it  is  no  ordinary 
individuals  whom  you  will  find  to  have  participated  in  the 
"  divine "  wisdom,  but  the  more  excellent  and  distinguished 
among  those  who  have  given  in  their  adherence  to  Chris- 
tianity ;  for  it  is  not  "  to  the  most  ignorant,  or  servile,  or  most 
uninstructed  of  mankind,"  that  one  would  discourse  upon  the 
topics  relating  to  the  divine  wisdom. 

Chapter  xiv. 

In  designating  others  by  the  epithets  of  "uninstructed,  and 
servile,  and  ignorant,"  Celsus,  I  suppose,  means  those  who  are 
not  acquainted  with  his  laws,  nor  trained  in  the  branches  of 
Greek  learning ;  while  we,  on  the  other  hand,  deem  those  to  be 
"  uninstructed"  who  are  not  ashamed  to  address  [supplications] 
to  inanimate  objects,  and  to  call  upon  those  for  health  that 
have  no  strength,  and  to  ask  the  dead  for  life,  and  to  entreat 
the  helpless  for  assistance.^  And  although  some  may  say  that 
these  objects  are  not  gods,  but  only  imitations  and  symbols  of 
real  divinities,  nevertheless  these  very  individuals,  in  imagining 
that  the  hands  of  low  mechanics^  can  frame  imitations  of 
divinity,  are  "uninstructed,  and  servile,  and  ignorant ;"  for  we 
assert  that  the  lowest^  among  us  have  been  set  free  from  this 
ignorance  and  want  of  knowledge,  while  the  most  intelligent 

1  Ps.  xlix.  9,  10  (LXX.).  2  y.Zai;.  3  1  Cor.  xii.  8,  9. 

■*  rwi  fivi  a,la)cv'jo,ui'jovg  Iv  roi  rot;  d-\pi')/oi;  7rpoa'Ka7^s7v,  y-c.l  'mp]  fisv  Cysixg 
TO  dahvig  sTTiKct'Aovf/J'jovg,  -zipl  0£  ^w'^f  to  vix.po'j  d^iolivrag,  "Tnpl  S=  ixr/.ovpiu; 
TO  dTTopuruTov  iK-nuQurcc;. 

*  fiayctv<ruv.  ®  tovj  lax,ix.rov;. 


352  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

can  understand  and  grasp  the  divine  liope.  We  do  7iot  main- 
tain, however,  that  it  is  impossible  for  one  who  has  not  been 
trained  in  earthly  wisdom  to  receive  the  "  divine,"  but  we  do 
acknowledge  that  all  human  wisdom  is  "  folly  "  in  comparison 
with  the  "divine."  In  the  next  place,  instead  of  endeavouring 
to  adduce  reasons,  as  he  ought,  for  his  assertions,  he  terms  us 
''sorcerers,"^  and  asserts  that  "we  flee  away  with  headlong 
speed'  from  the  more  polished^  class  of  persons,  because  they 
are  not  suitable  subjects  for  our  impositions,  while  we  seek  to 
decoy  ^  those  who  are  more  rustic."  Now  he  did  not  observe 
that  from  the  very  beginning  our  wise  men  were  trained  in  the 
external  branches  of  learning :  Moses,  e.g.,  in  all  the  wisdom 
of  the  Egyptians ;  Daniel,  and  Ananias,  and  Azariah,  and 
Mishael,  in  all  Assyrian  learning,  so  that  they  were  found  to 
surpass  in  tenfold  degree  all  the  wise  men  of  that  country.  At 
,''  the  present  time,  moreover,  the  churches  have,  in  proportion  to 
the  multitudes  [of  ordinary  believers],  a  few  "  wise"  men,  who 
have  come  over  to  them  from  that  wisdom  which  is  said  by  us 
to  be  "  according  to  the  flesh ; "  ^  and  they  have  also  some  who 
have  advanced  from  it  to  that  wisdom  which  is  "  divine." 

Chapter  xv. 

Celsus,  in  the  next  place,  as  one  who  has  heard  the  subject 
of  humility  greatly  talked  about,*^  but  who  has  not  been  at  the 
pains  to  understand  it,^  would  wish  to  speak  evil  of  that  humility 
which  is  practised  among  us,  and  imagines  that  it  is  borrowed 
from  some  words  of  Plato  imperfectly  understood,  where  he 
expresses  himself  in  the  Laivs  as  follows :  "  Now  God,  according 
to  the  ancient  account,  having  in  Himself  both  the  beginning 
and  end  and  middle  of  all  existing  things,  proceeds  according  to 
nature,  and  marches  straight  on.^  He  is  constantly  followed  by 
justice,  which  is  the  avenger  of  all  breaches  of  the  divine  law : 
he  who  is  about  to  become  happy  follows  her  closely  in  humility, 
and  becomingly  adorned."^     He  did  not  observe,  however,  that 

^  yon-a;.  "  TrpoTpo'Tra.^-zji/.  •'  rov;  ^xptsaTSpov;. 

^  ■s-ciXivof^iu.  ^  Cf.  1  Cor.  i.  26. 

^  6JJ  -spr/ix'^hl;  roc.  '^npi  ■zci7r£ivo(ppoavi/Yi;. 

®  ivSiicc  -TTipui'jii  x.o(,t2  Cfvatv  '!rupu'!7opivofMi/oi.  ^  Plato,  lie  Legihus,  iv. 


Booic  VI.]  OniGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  353 

in  writers  much  older  than  Plato  the  following  words  occur  in 
a  prayer :  '^  Lord,  my  lieart  is  not  haughty,  nor  mine  eyes  lofty, 
neither  do  I  walk  in  great  matters,  nor  in  things  too  wonderful 
for  me ;  if  I  had  not  been  humble,"  ^  etc.  Now  these  words 
show  that  he  who  is  of  humble  mind  does  not  by  any  means 
humble  himself  in  an  unseemly  or  inauspicious  manner,  falling 
down  upon  his  knees,  or  casting  himself  headlong  on  the  ground, 
putting  on  the  dress  of  the  miserable,  or  sprinkling  himself  with 
dust.  But  he  who  is  of  humble  mind  in  the  sense  of  the 
prophet,  while  "  walking  in  great  and  wonderful  things,"  which 
are  above  his  capacity — viz.  those  doctrines  that  are  truly  great, 
and  those  thoughts  that  are  wonderful — "humbles  himself 
under  the  mighty  hand  of  God."  If  there  are  some,  however, 
who  through  their  stupidity '  have  not  clearly  understood  the 
doctrine  of  humiliation,  and  act  as  they  do,  it  is  not  our  doctrine 
which  is  to  be  blamed;  but  we  must  extend  our  forgiveness  to 
the  stupidity^  of  those  who  aim  at  higher  things,  and  owing  to 
their  fatuity  of  mind^  fail  to  attain  them.  He  who  is  "humble 
and  becomingly  adorned,"  is  so  in  a  greater  degree  than  Plato's 
"humble  and  becomingly  adorned "  individual:  for  he  is  be- 
comingly adorned,  on  the  one  hand,  because  "  he  walks  in  things 
great  and  wonderful,"  which  are  beyond  his  capacity;  and 
humble,  on  the  other  hand,  because,  while  being  in  the  midst  of 
such,  he  yet  voluntarily  humbles  himself,  not  under  any  one  at 
random,  but  under  "  the  mighty  hand  of  God,"  through  Jesus 
Christ,  the  teacher  of  such  instruction,  "  who  did  not  deem 
equality  with  God  a  thing  to  be  eagerly  clung  to,  but  made 
Himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  on  Him  the  form  of  a 
servant,  and  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  humbled  Himself, 
and  became  obedient  unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross." ^ 
And  so  great  is  this  doctrine  of  humiliation,  that  it  has  no 
ordinary  individual  as  its  teacher;  but  our  great  Saviour  Him- 
self says :  "  Learn  of  me,  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  of  heart, 
and  ye  shall  find  rest  for  your  souls."'' 

1  Ps.  cxxxi.  1,  2  (LXX.).    The  clause,  "If  I  had  not  been  humble," 
seems  to  belong  to  the  followiug  verse. 

-  Tr,  ioiunlx.  ^  oiii  TO'j  ioiu-t<jy.i'j. 

4  Cf.  Phil.  ii.  6,8.  «  Cf.  Matt.  xi.  20. 

ORIG. VOL.  II.  Z 


354  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

Chapter  xvi. 

In  the  next  place,  with  regard  to  the  declaration  of  Jesus 
against  rich  men,  when  He  said,  "  It  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go 
through  the  eye  of  a  needle,  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God,"-^  Celsus  alleges  that  this  saying  manifestly 
proceeded  from  Plato,  and  that  Jesus  perverted  the  words  of 
the  philosopher,  which  were,  that  "  it  was  impossible  to  be  dis- 
tinguished for  goodness,  and  at  the  same  time  for  riches."'  Now 
who  is  there  that  is  capable  of  giving  even  moderate  attention 
to  affairs — not  merely  among  the  believers  on  Jesus,  but  among 
the  rest  of  mankind — that  would  not  laugh  at  Celsus,  on  hear- 
ing that  Jesus,  who  was  born  and  brought  up  among  the  Jews, 
and  was  supposed  to  be  the  son  of  Joseph  the  carpenter,  and 
who  had  not  studied  literature — not  merely  that  of  the  Greeks, 
but  not  even  that  of  the  Hebrews — as  the  truth-loving  Scriptures 
testify  regarding  Him,^  had  read  Plato,  and  being  pleased  with 
the  opinion  he  expressed  regarding  rich  men,  to  the  effect  that 
"  it  was  impossible  to  be  distinguished  for  goodness  and  riches 
at  the  same  time,"  had  perverted  this,  and  changed  it  into,  "  It 
is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle,  than  for 
a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  !"  Now,  if  Celsus 
had  not  perused  the  Gospels  in  a  spirit  of  hatred  and  dislike,  but 
had  been  imbued  with  a  love  of  truth,  he  would  have  turned 
his  attention  to  the  point  why  a  camel — that  one  of  animals 
which,  as  regards  its  physical  structure,  is  crooked — was  chosen 
as  an  object  of  comparison  with  a  rich  man,  and  what  signifi- 
cation the  "  narrow  eye  of  a  needle  "  had  for  him  who  saw  that 
"  strait  and  narrow  was  the  way  that  leadeth  unto  life ;"  ^  and 
to  this  point  also,  that  this  animnl^  according  to  the  law,  is 
described  as  "  unclean,"  having  one  element  of  acceptability, 
viz.  that  it  ruminates,  but  one  of  condemnation,  viz.  that  it  does 
not  divide  the  hoof.  He  would  have  inquired,  moreover,  how 
often  the  camel  was  adduced  as  an  object  of  comparison  in  the 
I  sacred  Scriptures,  and  in  reference  to  what  objects,  that  he 
\  might  thus  ascertain  the  meaning  of  the  Logos  concerning  the 

1  Cf.  Matt.  xix.  24.  -  Cf.  Plato,  v.  de  Lcgibus. 

"  Cf.  Matt.  xiii.  54,  Mark  vi.  2,  and  John  vii.  15. 
*  Cf.  Matt.  vii.  14. 


BooEvi.]  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  355 

rich  men.  Nor  would  he  have  left  without  examination  the 
fact  that  "  the  poor "  are  termed  "  blessed "  by  Jesus,  while 
"  the  rich"  are  designated  as  "  miserable  ;"  and  whether  these  / 
words  refer  to  the  rich  and  poor  who  are  visible  to  the  senses, 
or  whether  there  is  any  kind  of  poverty  known  to  the  Logos  V^' 
which  is  to  be  deemed  "  altogether  blessed,"  and  any  rich  man 
who  is  to  be  wholly  condemned.  For  even  a  common  individual 
/  would  not  thus  indiscriminately  have  praised  the  poor,  many  of 
whom  lead  most  wicked  lives.  But  on  this  point  we  have  said 
enough. 

Chapter  xvii. 

Since  Celsus,  moreover,  from  a  desire  to  depreciate  the 
accounts  which  our  Scriptures  give  of  the  kingdom  of  God, 
has  quoted  none  of  them,  as  if  they  were  unworthy  of  being 
recorded  by  him  (or  perhaps  because  he  was  unacquainted  with 
them),  while,  on  the  other  hand,  he  quotes  the  sayings  of 
Plato,  both  from  Iris  Epistles  and  the  Phcedrus,  as  if  these  were 
divinely  inspired,  but  our  Scriptures  were  not,  let  us  set  forth 

J  a  few  points,  for  the  sake  of  comparison  with  these  plausible 
declarations  of  Plato,  which  did  not,  however,  dispose  the 
philosopher  to  worship  in  a  manner  worthy  of  him  the  Maker 
of  all  things.  For  he  ought  not  to  have  adulterated  or  polluted 
this  worship  with  what  we  call  ''  idolatry,"  but  what  the  many 
would  describe  by  the  term  "  superstition."  Now,  according  to 
a  Hebrew  figure  of  speech,  it  is  said  of  God  in  the  eighteenth 
Psalm,  that  "  He  made  darkness  His  secret  place," ^  to  signify 
that  those  notions  which  should  be  worthily  entertained  of  God 
are  invisible  and  unknowable,  because  God  conceals  Himself 
in  darkness,  as  it  were,  from  those  who  cannot  endure  the  splen- 
dours of  His  knowledge,  or  are  incapable  of  looking  at  them, 
partly  owing  to  the  pollution  of  their  understanding,  which  is 
clothed  with  the  body  of  mortal  lowliness,  and  partly  owing 
to  its  feebler  power  of  comprehending  God.  And  in  order  that 
it   may  appear  that  the  knowledge  of  God  has  rarely  been 

;  vouchsafed  to  men,  and  has  been  found  in  very  few  individuals, 

Moses  is  related  to  have  entered  into  the  darkness  where  God 

was.^     And  again,  with  regard  to  Moses  it  is  said  :  ''  Moses 

1  Cf.  Ps.  sviii.  11.  1  Cf.  Ex.  XX.  21. 


35G  OrJGEN  AGAIJS'ST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

alone  shall  come  near  the  Lord,  but  the  rest  shall  not  come 
nigh."  ^  And  again,  that  the  prophet  may  show  the  depth  of 
the  doctrines  which  relate  to  God,  and  which  is  unattainable 
by  those  who  do  not  possess  the  "  Spirit  Avhich  searcheth  all 
things,  even  the  deep  things  of  God,"  he  added  :  "  The  abyss 
like  a  garment  is  His  covering."'  Nay,  our  Lord  and  Saviour, 
the  Logos  of  God,  manifesting  that  the  greatness  of  the  know- 
ledge of  the  Father  is  appropriately  comprehended  and  known 
,  pre-eminently  by  Him  alone,  and  in  the  second  place  by  those 
i  whose  minds  are  enlightened  by  the  Logos  Himself  and  God, 
declares  :  "  No  man  knoweth  the  Son,  but  the  Father ;  neither 
knoweth  any  man  the  Father  but  the  Son,  and  he  to  whom- 
soever the  Sou  will  reveal  Him."  ^  For  no  one  can  worthily 
know  the  "uncreated"^  and  first-born  of  all  created  nature  like 
the  Father  who  begat  Him,  nor  any  one  the  Father  like  the 
living  Logos,  and  His  Wisdom  and  Truth.  By  sharing  in  Him 
who  takes  away  from  the  Father  what  is  called  "  darkness," 
which  He  "  made  His  secret  place,"  and  "  the  abyss,"  which  is 
called  His  "  covering,"  and  in  this  way  unveiling  the  Father, 
every  one  knows  the  Father  who^  is  capable  of  knowing  Him. 

Chapter  xviii. 

I  thought  it  right  to  quote  these  few  instances  from  a  much 
larger  number  of  passages,  in  which  our  sacred  writers  express 
their  ideas  regarding  God,  in  order  to  show  that,  to  those  who 
have  eyes  to  behold  the  venerable  character  of  Scripture,  the 
sacred  writings  of  the  prophets  contain  things  more  worthy  of 
reverence  than  those  sayings  of  Plato  which  Celsus  admires. 
Now  the  declaration  of  Plato,  quoted  by  Celsus,  runs  as  fol- 
lows :  "  All  thiniis  are  around  tlio  Kinrj  of  all,  and  all  things 
exist  for  his  sake,  and  he  is  the  cause  of  all  good  things. 
With  things  of  the  second  rank  he  is  second,  and  with  those 
of  the  third  rank  he  is  third.     The  human  soul,  accordingly, 

1  Cf.  Ex.  xxiv.  2.  2  Cf.  Ps.  civ.  6.  ^  cf  T^jatt.  xi.  27. 

^  dyivmov.  Locus  diligenter  uotandus,  ubi  filius  c  creaturaruiii  numero 
diserte  eximitur,  dum  dyivviTo;  dicitur.  At  non  dissimulandum  iu  uuico 
Cod.  Anglicano  sccundo  legi :  to*  yvjr/izou :  cf.  Oriycnianorum,  lib.  ii. 
qujestio  2,  num.  23. — Ru.sus. 

''  ot/  «■&-'  uu  •/C'^pyj  yiyjixsKuv.    Bohercllus  proposes  oVt/j  ttot'  a.v  X""/*?)  ^^'^ 


Book  vi.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  357 

is  eager  to  learn  what  tliese  things  are,  looking  to  such  tilings 
as  are  kindred  to  itself,  none  of  which  is  perfect.  But  as 
regards  the  King  and  those  things  which  I  mentioned,  there  is 
nothing  which  resembles  them."  ^  I  might  have  mentioned, 
moreover,  what  is  said  of  those  beings  which  are  called  seraphim 
by  the  Hebrews,  and  described  in  Isaiah,'*  who  cover  tlie  face 
and  feet  of  God,  and  of  those  called  cherubim,  whom  Ezekiel  ^ 
has  described,  and  the  postures  of  these,  and  of  the  manner  in 
which  God  is  said  to  be  borne  upon  the  cherubim.     But  since    ! 

I  they  are  mentioned  in  a  very  mysterious  manner,  on  account   ' 
of  the  unworthy  and  the  indecent,  Avho  are  imable  to  enter  into 

>the  great  thoughts  and  venerable  nature  of  theology,  I  have  i 
not  deemed  it  becoming  to  discourse  of  them  in  this  treatise. 

CHArXER  XIX. 

Celsus  in  the  next  place  alleges,  that  "  certain  Christians, 
having  misunderstood  the  words  of  Plato,  loudly  boast  of  a 
'  super-celestial'  God,  thus  ascending  beyond  the  heaven  of  the 
Jews."  By  these  words,  indeed,  he  does  not  make  it  clear 
whether  they  also  ascend  beyond  the  God  of  the  Jews,  or  only 
beyond  the  heaven  by  which  they  swear.  It  is  not  our  purpose 
at  present,  however,  to  speak  of  those  who  acknowledge  another 
god  than  the  one  worshipped  by  the  Jews,  but  to  defend  our- 
selves, and  to  show  that  it  Avas  impossible  for  the  prophets  of 
the  Jews,  whose  writings  are  reckoned  among  ours,  to  have 
borrowed  anything  from  Plato,  because  they  were  older  than 
he.  They  did  not  then  borrow  from  him  the  declaration,  that 
"  all  things  are  around  the  King  of  all,  and  that  all  exist  on 
account  of  him ;"  for  we  have  learned  that  nobler  thoughts 
than  these  have  been  uttered  by  the  prophets,  by  Jesus  Him- 
self and  His  disciples,  who  have  clearly  indicated  the  meaning 
of  the  spirit  that  was  in  them,  which  was  none  other  than  the 
spirit  of  Christ.  Nor  was  the  philosopher  the  first  to  present 
to  view  the  "  super-celestial"  place ;  for  David  long  ago  brought 
to  view  the  profundity  and  multitude  of  the  thoughts  concern- 
ing God  entertained  by  those  who  have  ascended  above  visible 
things,  when  he  said  in  the  book  of  Psalms  :  *•'  Praise  God,  ye 

1  Cf.  Plato,  Epht.  ii.  ad  Dionys.  2  Cf,  jg^  yi  2. 

2  Cf.  Ezek.  i.  and  x. 


358  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

heaven  of  heavens ;  and  ye  waters  that  be  above  the  heavens, 
let  them  praise  the  name  of  the  Lord."^  I  do  not,  indeed,  deny 
that  Plato  learned  from  certain  Hebrews  the  words  quoted  from 
the  Phcedrus,  or  even,  as  some  have  recorded,  that  he  quoted 
them  from  a  perusal  of  our  prophetic  writings,  when  he  said  : 
"  No  poet  here  below  has  ever  sung  of  the  super-celestial  place, 
or  ever  will  sing  in  a  becoming  manner,"  and  so  on.  And  in 
the  same  passage  is  the  following  :  "  For  the  essence,  which  is 
both  colourless  and  formless,  and  which  cannot  be  touched, 
which  really  exists,  is  the  pilot  of  the  soul,  and  is  beheld  b}""  the 
understanding  alone  ;  and  around  it  the  genus  of  true  know- 
ledge holds  this  place." '  Our  Paul,  moreover,  educated  by 
these  words,  and  longing  after  things  "  supra-mundane"  and 
'•'  super-celestial,"  and  doing  his  utmost  for  their  sake  to  attain 
them,  says  in  the  second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians :  "  For  our 
light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh  for  us  a 
far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory ;  while  we  look 
not  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things  which  are 
not  seen :  for  the  things  which  are  seen  are  temporal ;  but 
the  things  which  are  unseen  are  eternal."  ^ 

Chapter  xx. 

Now,  to  those  who  are  capable  of  understanding  him,  the 
apostle  manifestly  presents  to  view  "  things  which  are  the 
j  objects  of  perception,"  calling  them  "things  seen;"  while  he 
I  terms  "  unseen,"  things  which  are  the  object  of  the  under- 
standing, and  cognisable  by  it  alone.  He  knows,  also,  that 
things  "seen"  and  visible  are  "temporal,"  but  that  things 
cognisable  by  the  mind,  and  "not  seen,"  are  "eternal;"  and 
desiring  to  remain  in  the  contemplation  of  these,  and  being 
assisted  by  his  earnest  longing  for  them,  he  deemed  all  afflic- 
tion as  "light"  and  as  "nothing,"  and  during  the  season  of 
afflictions  and  troubles  was  not  at  all  bowed  down  by  them,  but 
by  his  contemplation  of  [divine]  things  deemed  every  calamity' 
a  light  thing,  seeing  we  also  have  "  a  great  High  Priest,"  who 
by  the  greatness  of  His  power  and  understanding  "  has  passed 
through  the  heavens,  even  Jesus  the  Son  of  God,"  who  has 
promised  to  all  that  have  truly  learned  divine  things,  and  have 
1  Ps.  cxlviii.  4.         2  cf.  Plato  in  Phxdro.  3  Cf.  2  Cor.  iv.  17,  18. 


Book  VI.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  359 

lived  lives  in  harmony  with  them,  to  go  before  them  to  the 
things  that  are  supra-mundane  ;  for  His  words  are :  "  That 
where  I  go,  ye  may  be  also."^  And  therefore  we  hope,  after 
the  troubles  and  struggles  which  we  suffer  here,  to  reach  the 
highest  heavens,'^  and  receiving,  agreeably  to  the  teaching  of 
Jesus,  the  fountains  of  water  that  spring  up  unto  eternal  life, 
and  being  filled  with  the  rivers  of  knowledge,^  shall  be  united 
with  those  waters  that  are  said  to  be  above  the  heavens,  and 
which  praise  His  name.  And  as  many  of  us^  as  praise  Him 
shall  not  be  carried  about  by  the  revolution  of  the  heaven,  but 
shall  be  ever  engaged  in  the  contemplation  of  the  invisible 
things  of  God,  which  are  no  longer  understood  by  us  through 
the  things  which  He  hath  made  from  the  creation  of  the  world, 
but  seeing,  as  it  was  expressed  by  the  true  disciple  of  Jesus  in 
these  words,  "then  face  to  face;"  ^  and  in  these,  "When  that 
which  is  perfect  is  come,  then  that  which  is  in  part  will  be  done 
away."  ^ 

Chapter  xxi. 

The  Scriptures  which  are  current  in  the  churches  of  God  do 
not  speak  of  "  seven  "  heavens,  or  of  any  definite  number  at  all, 
but  they  do  appear  to  teach  the  existence  of  "heavens,"  whether 
that  means  the  "  spheres"  of  those  bodies  which  the  Greeks  call 
"planets,"  or  something  more  mysterious.  Celsus,  too,  agreeably 
to  the  opinion  of  Plato,^  asserts  that  souls  can  make  their  way 
to  and  from  the  earth  through  the  planets ;  while  Moses,  our 
most  ancient  prophet,  says  that  a  divine  vision  was  presented  to 
the  view  of  our  prophet  Jacob,^ — a  ladder  stretching  to  heaven, 
and  the  angels  of  God  ascending  and  descending  upon  it,  and 
the  Lord  supported  ^  upon  its  top, — obscurely  pointing,  by  this 
!  matter  of  the  ladder,  either  to  the  same  truths  which  Plato  had 
in  view,  or  to  something  greater  than  these.     On  this  subject 

^  Cf.  John  xiv.  3.  ^  'T^pog  xkooi;  toI;  oupavols- 

"^  Trorciuov;  tuv  S-ap'/jjicurav. 

*  For  oaov  "/i  Boherellus  proposes  oaoi  ys,  -which  is  adopted  in  the  trans- 
lation. 

5  Cf.  1  Cor.  xiii.  12.  «  Cf.  1  Cor.  xiii.  10. 

7  Cf.  Plato  in  Timieo.  8  Cf.  Geu.  xxviii.  12,  13. 

'■'  iTrsa-ripiyfiSiiov. 


SCO  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

Phllo  has  composed  a  treatise  which  deserves  the  thoughtful 
and  intellio;ent  investisjation  of  all  lovers  of  truth. 

Chapter  xxii. 

After  this,  Celsus,  desiring  to  exhibit  his  learning  in  his 
treatise  against  us,  quotes  also  certain  Persian  mysteries,  where 
he  says :  "  These  things  are  obscurely  hinted  at  in  the  accounts 
of  the  Persians,  and  especially  in  the  mysteries  of  Mithras, 
which  are  celebrated  amongst  them.  For  in  the  latter  there 
is  a  representation  of  the  two  heavenly  revolutions, — of  the 
movement,  viz.,  of  the  fixed  ^  stars,  and  of  that  v;hich  takes 
place  among  the  planets,  and  of  the  passage  of  the  soul  through 
these.  The  representation  is  of  the  following  nature :  There 
is  a  ladder  with  lofty  gates,^  and  on  the  top  of  it  an  eighth  gate. 
The  first  gate  consists  of  lead,  the  second  of  tin,  the  third  of 
copper,  the  fourth  of  iron,  the  fifth  of  a  mixture  of  metals,^ 
the  sixth  of  silver,  and  the  seventh  of  gold.  The  first  gate 
they  assign  to  Saturn,  indicating  by  the  '  lead'  the  slowness  of 
this  star ;  the  second  to  Venus,  comparing  her  to  the  splendour 
and  softness  of  tin  ;  the  third  to  Jupiter,  being  firm*  and  solid  ; 
the  fourth  to  Mercury,  for  both  Mercury  and  iron  are  fit  to 
endure  all  things,  and  are  money -making  and  laborious;^ 
the  fifth  to  Mars,  because,  being  composed  of  a  mixture  of 
metals,  it  is  varied  and  unequal;  the  sixth,  of  silver,  to  the 
!Moon  ;  the  seventh,  of  gold,  to  the  Sun, — thus  imitating  the 
different  colours  of  the  two  latter."  He  next  proceeds  to 
examine  the  reason  of  the  stars  being  arranged  in  this  order, 
which  is  symbolized  by  the  names  of  the  rest  of  matter.''  Musical 
reasons,  moreover,  are  added  or  quoted  by  the  Persian  theology; 
and  to  these,  again,  he  strives  to  add  a  second  explanation,  con- 
nected also  with  musical  considerations.  But  it  seems  to  me, 
that  to  quote  the  language  of  Celsus  upon  these  matters  would 
be  absurd,  and  similar  to  what  he  himself  has  done,  when,  in 

-  K'Ki/x.x^  ii^iTv'Kos.    Boherellus  conjectures  sTTTart;/©?. 

^  I'hriix.ovDC  ydio  'ipyuv  ce.-!: ccvi uv ^  kuI  ycP'^^'^'^"'~''i'-'t  "«*'  ^toAvx^jjtoj'  nvctl,  to;/ 
TS  aio'npou  Kctl  rov    Ep^wijy. 
*  Tsjj  Xo/TT^;  vM;-     l^'or  i-'Xij;,  another  reading  is  "TrvXr,;. 


Book  vi.j  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  3G1 

his  accusations  against  Christians  and  Jews,  he  quoted,  most 
inappropriately,  not  only  the  words  of  Plato ;  but,  dissatisfied 
even  with  these,^  he  adduced  in  addition  the  mysteries  of  the 
Persian  Mithras,  and  the  explanation  of  them.  Now,  whatever 
be  the  case  with  regard  to  these, — whether  the  Persians  and  those 
who  conduct  the  mysteries  of  Mithras  give  false  or  true  accounts 
regarding  them, — why  did  he  select  these  for  quotation,  rather 
tlian  some  of  the  other  mysteries,  with  the  explanation  of  them? 
For  the  mysteries  of  Mithras  do  not  appear  to  be  more  famous 
among  the  Greeks  than  those  of  Eleusis,  or  than  those  in 
Egina,  where  individuals  are  initiated  in  the  rites  of  Plecate. 
But  if  he  must  introduce  barbarian  mysteries  with  their  ex- 
planation, why  not  rather  those  of  the  Egyptians,  which  are 
highly  regarded  by  many,"  or  those  of  the  Cappadocians  re- 
garding the  Comanian  Diana,  or  those  of  the  Thracians,  or 
even  those  of  the  Romans  themselves,  who  initiate  the  noblest 
members  of  their  senate?^  But  if  he  deemed  it  inappropriate  to 
institute  a  comparison  with  any  of  these,  because  they  furnished 
no  aid  in  the  way  of  accusing  Jews  or  Christians,  why  did  it 
not  also  appear  to  him  inappropriate  to  adduce  the  instance  of 
the  mysteries  of  Mithras  ? 

Chapter  xxiii. 

If  one  wished  to  obtain  means  for  a  profounder  contem- 
plation of  the  entrance  of  souls  into  divine  things,  not  from 
the  statements  of  that  very  insignificant  sect  from  which  he 
quoted,  but  from  books — partly  those  of  the  Jews,  which  are 
read  in  their  synagogues,  and  adopted  by  Christians,  and 
partly  from  those  of  Christians  alone — let  him  peruse,  at  the 
end  of  Ezekiel's  prophecies,  the  visions  beheld  by  the  pro- 
phet, in  which  gates  of  different  kinds  are  enumerated,'*  which  </ 
obscurely  refer  to  the  different  modes  in  which  divine  souls 
enter  into  a  better  world  ;  ^  and  let  him  peruse  also,  from 
the  Apocalypse  of  John,  what  is  related  of  the  city  of 
God,   the   heavenly  Jerusalem,   and   of   its   foundations  and 

^  For  u;  iKii'joi;  upx-sladxi,  Speucer  introduced  into  bis  text,  oi/o'  tKu'voi; 
upKiladoct,  which  has  been  adopted  in  the  translation. 

^  iu  oi;  c7&AAo<  dii^vvvovrxi.  ^  oc'TO  zvjg  cv/K'h'/iTOV  jZc,v>.vj;. 

*  Cf.  Ezek.  xlviii.  ■^  *«  j  r«  Kpiirroua. 


362  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

gates.-^  And  if  he  is  capable  of  finding  out  also  the  road, 
which  is  indicated  by  symbols,  of  those  who  will  march  on  to 
divine  things,  let  him  read  the  book  of  Moses  entitled  Numbers, 
and  let  him  seek  the  help  of  one  who  is  capable  of  initiating  him 
into  the  meaning  of  the  narratives  concerning  the  encampments 
of  the  children  of  Israel ;  viz.  of  what  sort  those  were  which 
were  arranged  towards  the  east,  as  was  the  case  with  the  first ; 
and  what  those  towards  the  south-west  and  south  ;  and  what 
towards  the  sea  ;  and  what  the  last  were,  which  were  stationed 
towards  the  north.  For  he  will  see  that  there  is  in  the  respec- 
tive places  a  meaning^  not  to  be  lightly  treated,  nor,  as  Celsus 
imagines,  such  as  calls  only  for  silly  and  servile  listeners  :  but 
he  will  distinguish  in  the  encampments  certain  things  relating 
to  the  numbers  that  are  enumerated,  and  which  are  specially 
adapted  to  each  tribe,  of  which  the  present  does  not  appear  to  us 
to  be  the  proper  time  to  speak.  Let  Celsus  know,  moreover,  as 
well  as  those  who  read  his  book,  that  in  no  part  of  the  genuine 
and  divinely  accredited  Scriptures  are  "seven"  heavens  men- 
tioned ;  neither  do  our  prophets,  nor  the  apostles  of  Jesus,  nor 
the  Son  of  God  Himself,  repeat  anything  which  they  borrowed 
from  the  Persians  or  the  Cabiri. 

Chapter  xxiv. 

After  the  instance  borrowed  from  the  Mithraic  mysteries, 
Celsus  declares  that  he  who  would  investigate  the  Christian 
mysteries,  along  with  the  aforesaid  Persian,  will,  on  comparing 
the  two  together,  and  on  unveiling  the  rites  of  the  Christians, 
see  in  this  way  the  difference  between  them.  Now,  wherever  he 
was  able  to  give  the  names  of  the  various  sects,  he  was  nothing 
loth  to  quote  those  with  which  he  thought  himself  acquainted ; 
but  when  he  ought  most  of  all  to  have  done  this,  if  they 
were  really  known  to  him,  and  to  have  informed  us  which  was 
the  sect  that  makes  use  of  the  diagram  he  has  drawn,  he  has 
not  done  so.  It  seems  to  me,  however,  that  it  is  from  some 
statements  of  a  very  insignificant  sect  called  Ophites,  wdiich  he 
has  misunderstood,  that,  in  my  opinion,  he  has  partly  borrowed 
what  he  says  about  the  diagram.^     Now,  as  we  have  always  been 


4«r««. 


^  Cf.  Apoc.  xxi.  ^  hup'/!,u 

^  "  Utiuain  exstaret!    Multum  cuim  lucis  procul  dubio  antiquissimorum 


Book  vi.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  3G3 

animated  bv  a  love  of  learning,^  we  have  fallen  in  with  tliis 
diagram,  and  we  have  found  in  it  the  representations  of  men 
whoj  as  Paul  says,  "  creep  into  houses,  and  lead  captive  silly- 
women  laden  with  sins,  led  away  with  divers  lusts ;  ever  learn- 
ing, and  never  able  to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth."  " 
TJie  diagram  was,  however,  so  destitute  of  all  credibilit}-,  that 
neither  these  easily  deceived  women,  nor  the  most  rustic  class  of 
men,  nor  those  Avho  were  ready  to  be  led  away  by  any  plausible 
pretender  whatever,  ever  gave  their  assent  to  the  diagram.  Nor, 
indeed,  have  we  ever  met  any  individual,  although  we  have 
visited  many  parts  of  the  earth,  and  have  sought  out  all  those 
who  anywhere  made  profession  of  knowledge,  that  placed  any 
faith  in  this  diagram. 

Chapter  xxv. 

In  this  diagram  were  described  ten  circles,  distinct  from  each 
other,  but  united  by  one  circle,  which  was  said  to  be  the  soul 
of  all  things,  and  was  called  "  Leviathan."  ^  This  Leviathan, 
the  Jewish  Scriptures  say,  whatever  they  mean  by  the  expres- 
sion, was  created  by  God  for  a  plaything  ;*  for  we  find  in  the 
Psalms  :  "  In  wisdom  hast  Thou  made  all  things :  the  earth  is 
full  of  Thy  creatures ;  so  is  this  great  and  wide  sea.  There 
go  the  ships ;  small  animals  with  great ;  there  is  this  dragon, 
which  Thou  hast  formed  to  play  therein."''  Instead  of  the 
word  "dragon,"  the  term  "leviathan"  is  in  the  Hebrew.  This 
impious  diagram,  then,  said  of  this  leviathan,  which  is  so  clearly 
depreciated  by  the  psalmist,  that  it  was  the  soul  which  had 
travelled  through  all  things !  We  observed,  also,  in  the  dia- 
gram, the  being  named  "  Behemoth,"  placed  as  it  were  under 
the  lowest  circle.  The  inventor  of  this  accursed  diagram 
had  inscribed  this  leviathan  at  its  circumference  and  centre, 
thus  placing  its  name  in  two  separate  places.  Moreover, 
Celsus  says  that  the  diagram  Avas  "  divided  by  a  thick  black 
line,  and  this  line  he  asserted  was  called  Gehenna,  which  is 
Tartarus."     Now  as  we  found  that  Gehenna  Avas  mentioned 

Patrum  libris,  priscse  ecclesise  tcmporibus,  et  quibusdam  sacrje  Scripturce 
locis,  accederet."— Spexcer. 

^  y.oi-oL  TO  Cpi'hou.a.Si;  i;,u.Zv.  ~  Cf.  2  Tim.  iii.  C,  7. 

^  Cf.  note  in  Spencer's  ed.  *  "j^aiyjiov.  °  Cf.  Ps.  civ.  2-i-26. 


i 


364  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSVS.  [Book  vr. 

in  the  Gospel  as  a  place  of  punishment,  we  searched  to  see 
whether  it  is  mentioned  anywhere  in  the  ancient  Scriptures,  and 
especially  because  the  Jews  too  use  the  word.  And  we  ascer- 
tained that  where  the  valley  of  the  son  of  Ennom  was  named  in 
Scripture  in  the  Hebrew,  instead  of  "  valley,"  with  fundamen- 
tally the  same  meaning,  it  was  termed  both  the  valley  of  Ennom 
and  also  Geenna.  And  continuing  our  researches,  we  find  that 
wliat  was  termed  "  Geenna,"  or  "  the  valley  of  Ennom,"  was 
included  in  the  lot  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  in  which  Jeru- 
salem also  was  situated.  And  seeking  to  ascertain  what  might 
be  the  inference  from  the  heavenly  Jerusalem  belonging  to  the 
lot  of  Benjamin  and  the  valley  of  Ennom,  we  find  a  certain 
confirmation  of  what  is  said  regarding  the  place  of  punishment,  . 
intended  for  the  purification  of  such  souls  as  are  to  be  purified 
by  torments,  agreeably  to  the  saying :  "  The  Lord  cometh  like 
a  refiner's  fire,  and  like  fuller's  soap :  and  He  shall  sit  as  a  '■. 
refiner  and  purifier  of  silver  and  of  gold."  ^ 

Chapter  xxvi. 

It  is  in  the  precincts  of  Jerusalem,  then,  that  punishments  / 
will  be  inflicted  upon  those  who  undergo  the  process  of  purifica-  ^ 
tion,'  who  have  received  into  the  substance  of  their  soul  the 
elements  of  wickedness,  which  in  a  certain  place ^  is  figuratively 
termed  "  lead,"  and  on  that  account  iniquity  is  represented  in 
Zechariah  as  sitting  upon  a  "talent  of  lead."*  But  the  remarks 
/  which  might  be  made  on  this  topic  are  neither  to  be  made  to 
\    all,  nor  to  be  uttered  on  the  present  occasion  ;  for  it  is  not 

unattended  with  danger  to  commit  to  writing  the  explanation  f      i  ; 
of  such  subjects,  seeing  the  multitude  need  no  further  instruc-  (       / 
tion   than   that  which  relates  to  the   punishment  of  sinners  ;    j  > 
while  to  ascend  beyond  this  is  not  expedient,  for  the  sake  of    I     ' 
those  who  are  with  difficulty  restrained,  even  by  fear  of  eternal   / 
punishment,  from  plunging  into  any  degree  of  wickedness,  and 
into  the  flood  of  evils  which  result  from  sin.     The  doctrine  of 
Geenna,  then,  is  unknown  both  to  the  Diagram  and  to  Celsus: 
for  had  it  been  otherwise,  the  framers  of  the  former  would  not 
have  boasted  of  their  pictures  of  animals  and  diagrams,  as  if  the 

*  Cf.  Mai.  iii.  2,  3.  ^  xo>vivof^ivuv. 

3  xoJ.  ■•  Cf.  Zecb.  V.  7. 


Book  VI.]  OPJG EN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  3G5 

trutli  were  represented  by  these  ;  nor  would  Celsus,  in  his  trea- 
tise against  the  Christians,  liave  introduced  among  the  charges 
directed  against  them  statements  which  they  never  uttered, 
instead  of  what  was  spoken  by  some  who  perhaps  are  no  longer 
in  existence,  but  have  altogether  disappeared,  or  been  reduced 
to  a  very  few  individuals,  and  these  easily  counted.  And  as  it 
does  not  beseem  those  who  profess  the  doctrines  of  Plato  to  offer 
a  defence  of  Epicurus  and  his  impious  opinions,  so  neither  is 
it  for  us  to  defend  the  diagram,  or  to  refute  the  accusations 
brought  against  it  by  Celsus.  We  may  therefore  allow  his 
charges  on  these  points  to  pass  as  superfluous  and  useless,^  for 
we  would  censure  more  severely  than  Celsus  any  who  should 
be  carried  away  by  such  opinions. 

Chapter  xxvii. 

After  the  matter  of  the  Diagram,  he  brings  forward  certain 
monstrous  statements,  in  the  form  of  question  and  answer," 
regarding  what  is  called  by  ecclesiastical  writers  the  "seal," 
statements  which  did  not  arise  from  imperfect  information ; 
such  as  that  "  he  who  impresses  the  seal  is  called  father,  and 
he  who  is  sealed  is  called  young  man  and  son  ;"  and  who 
answers,  "  I  have  been  anointed  with  white  ointment  from  the 
tree  of  life," — things  which  we  never  heard  to  have  occurred 
even  among  the  heretics.  In  the  next  place,  he  determines 
even  the  number  mentioned  by  those  who  deliver  over  the  seal, 
as  that  "  of  seven  angels,  who  attach  themselves  to  both  sides  of 
the  soul  of  the  dying  body ;  the  one  party  being  named  angels 
of  light,  the  others  '  archontics;'"  ^  and  he  asserts  that  the 
*' ruler  of  those  named  'archontics'  is  termed  the  'accursed' 
God."  Then,  laying  hold  of  the  expression,  he  assails,  not 
without  reason,  those  who  venture  to  use  such  language ;  and 
on  that  account  we  entertain  a  similar  feeling  of  indignation 
with  those  who  censure  such  individuals,  if  indeed  there  exist 
any  who  call  the  God  of  the  Jews — who  sends  rain  and  thunder, 
and  who  is  the  Creator  of  this  world,  and  the  God  of  Moses,  and 
of  the  cosmogony  which  he  records — an  "accursed"  divinity. 
Celsus,  however,  appears  to  have  had  in  view,  in  employing 


3GG  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

these  expressions,  not  a  rational^  object,  but  one  of  a  most 
irrational  kind,  arising  out  of  his  hatred  towards  us,  which  is 
so  unlike  a  philosopher.  For  his  aim  was,  that  those  who  are 
unacquainted  with  our  customs  should,  on  perusing  his  treatise, 
at  once  assail  us  as  if  we  called  the  noble  Creator  of  this  world 
an  ''  accursed  divinity."  He  appears  to  me,  indeed,  to  have 
acted  like  those  Jews  who,  when  Christianity  began  to  be  first 
preached,  scattered  abroad  false  reports  of  the  gospel,  such  as 
that  "  Christians  offered  up  an  infant  in  sacrifice,  and  partook 
of  its  flesh;"  and  again,  "that  the  professors  of  Christianity, 
wishing  to  do  the  '  works  of  darkness,'  used  to  extinguish  the 
lights  [in  their  meetings],  and  each  one  to  have  sexual  inter- 
course with  any  woman  whom  he  chanced  to  meet."  These 
calumnies  have  long  exercised,  although  unreasonably,  an  influ- 
ence over  the  minds  of  very  many,  leading  those  who  are  aliens 
to  the  gospel  to  believe  that  Christians  are  men  of  such  a 
character ;  and  even  at  the  present  day  they  mislead  some,  and 
prevent  them  from  entering  even  into  the  simple  intercourse  of 
conversation  with  those  who  are  Christians. 

Chapter  xxviii. 

With  some  such  object  as  this  in  view  does  Celsus  seem  to 
have  been  actuated,  when  he  alleged  that  Christians  term  the 
Creator  an  "accursed  divinity;"  in  order  that  he  avIio  believes 
these  charges  of  his  against  us,  should,  if  possible,  arise  and 
exterminate  the  Christians  as  the  most  impious  of  mankind. 
Confusing,  moreover,  things  that  are  distinct,^  he  states  also 
the  reason  why  the  God  of  the  Mosaic  cosmogony  is  termed 
"  accursed,"  asserting  that  "  such  is  his  character,  and  worthy 
of  execration  in  the  opinion  of  those  who  so  regard  him,  inas- 
much as  he  pronounced  a  curse  upon  the  serpent,  who  intro- 
duced the  first  human  beings  to  the  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil."  Now  he  ought  to  have  known  that  those  who  have 
espoused  the  cause  of  the  serpent,  because  he  gave  good  advice 
to  the  first  human  beings,  and  who  go  far  beyond  the  Titans  and 
Giants  of  fable,  and  are  on  this  account  called  Ophites,  are  so 
far  from  being  Christians,  that  they  bring  accusations  against 

2  (pupuu  Oi  T»  -T^pCi'/^XTX. 


Book  vi.]  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  3G7 

Jesus  to  as  great  a  degree  as  Celsus  himself  ;  and  tliey  do  not 
admit  any  one.  into  their  assembly^  until  he  has  uttei'ed  male- 
dictions against  Jesus.  See,  then,  how  irrational  is  the  pro- 
cedure of  Celsus,  who,  in  his  discourse  against  the  Christians, 
represents  as  such  those  who  will  not  even  listen  to  the  name  of 
Jesus,  or  admit  even  that  He  was  a  wise  man,  or  a  person  of 
virtuous"'^  character !  What,  then,  could  evince  greater  folly  or 
madness,  not  only  on  the  part  of  those  who  wish  to  derive  their 
name  from  the  serpent  as  the  author  of  good,'^  but  also  on  the 
part  of  Celsus,  who  thinks  that  the  accusations  with  which  the 
Ophites^  are  charged,  are  chargeable  also  against  the  Christians! 
Long  ago,  indeed,  that  Greek  philosopher  who  preferred  a  state 
of  poverty,^  and  who  exhibited  the  pattern  of  a  happy  life, 
showing  that  he  was  not  excluded  from  happiness  although  he 
was  possessed  of  nothing,^  termed  himself  a  Cynic ;  while  these 
impious  wretches,  as  not  being  human  beings,  whose  enemy 
the  serpent  is,  but  as  being  serpents,  pride  themselves  upon 
being  called  Ophites  from  the  serpent,  which  is  an  animal 
most  hostile  to  and  greatly  dreaded  by  man,  and  boast  of  one 
Euphrates^  as  the  introducer  of  these  unhallowed  opinions. 

Chapter  xxix. 

In  the  next  place,  as  if  it  were  the  Christians  whom  he  Avas 
calumniating,  he  continues  his  accusations  against  those  who 
termed  the  God  of  Moses  and  of  liis  law  an  "  accursed"  divinity ; 
and  imagining  that  it  is  the  Christians  who  so  speak,  he  ex- 
presses himself  thus  :  "  What  could  be  more  foolish  or  insane 
than  such  senseless^  wisdom  ?  For  what  blunder  has  the  Jewish 
lawgiver  committed?  and  why  do  you  accept,  by  means,  as 
you  say,^  of  a  certain  allegorical  and  typical  method  of  inter- 
pretation, the  cosmogony  which  he  gives,  and  the  law  of  the 
Jews,  while  it  is  with  unwillingness,  O  most  impious  man,  that 


••■  avvioptov.  '■'  fiirpto;  rx  VjSri.  ^  cl/sp^/jyot/  rcdv  icaT^.uv. 

■^  ''O(pi»yor,  cf.  Irenseus,  vol.  i.  pp.  104-112  (Ante-Nicene  Library). 

'*  "Euphraten  hujus  hseresis  auctorem  solus  Origenes  tradit." — Spencer; 
cf.  note  in  Spencer's  ed. 

^  civxi7d-/;Tov.  ^  Boberellus  proposes  tpvjj  for  tlie  textual  reading  (p/;7i. 


3G8  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vr. 

you  give  praise  to  the  Creator  of  the  workl,  who  promised  to 
give  them  all  things ;  who  promised  to  multiply  their  race  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  to  raise  them  up  from  the  dead 
with  the  same  flesh  and  blood,  and  who  gave  inspiration^  to 
their  prophets  ;  and,  again,  you  slander  Him  !  When  you  feel 
the  force  of  such  considerations,  indeed,  you  acknowledge  that 
you  worship  the  same  God ;  but  when  your  teacher  Jesus  and 
the  Jewish  Moses  give  contradictory  decisions,'  you  seek  another 
God,  instead  of  Him,  and  the  Father!"  Now,  by  such  state- 
ments, this  illustrious  philosopher  Celsus  distinctly  slanders  the 
Christians,  aserting  that,  when  the  Jews  press  them  hard,  they 
acknowledge  the  same  God  as  they  do ;  but  that  when  Jesus 
legislates  differently  from  Moses,  they  seek  another  god  instead 
of  Him.  Now,  whether  we  are  conversing  with  the  Jews,  or 
are  alone  with  ourselves,  we  know  of  only  one  and  the  same 
God,  whom  the  Jews  also  worshipped  of  old  time,  and  still  pro- 
fess to  worship  as  God,  and  we  are  guilty  of  no  impiety  towards 

I  Him.  We  do  not  assert,  however,  that  God  will  raise  men 
from  the  dead  with  the  same  flesh  and  blood,  as  has  been  shown 

';  in  the  preceding  pages  ;  for  we  do  not  maintain  that  the  natural'' 
body,  which  is  sown  in  corruption,  and  in  dishonour,  and  in 

'  weakness,  will  rise  again  such  as  it  was  sown.  On  such  sub- 
jects, however,  we  have  spoken  at  adequate  length  in  the  fore- 
going pages. 

Chapter  xxx. 

He  next  returns  to  the  subject  of  the  Seven  ruling  Demons,* 
whose  names  are  not  found  among  Christians,  but  who,  I  think, 
are  accepted  by  the  Ophites.  We  found,  indeed,  that  in  the 
Diagram,  which  on  their  account  we  procured  a  sight  of,  the 
same  order  was  laid  down  as  that  which  Celsus  has  given. 
Celsus  says  that  "  the  goat  was  shaped  like  a  lion,"  not  men- 
tioning the  name  given  him  by  those  who  are  truly  the  most 
impious  of  individuals ;  whereas  xce  discovered  that  He  who  is 
honoured  in  Holy  Scripture  as  the  angel  of  the  Creator  is  called 

^  y,u\  roi;  '7i-po(P'/ircii;  IfA.'TTViO'jra.. 

2  i^v/jKou.  *  Cf.  Spencer's  uote,  as  quoted  in  Benedictine  ed. 


Book  VI J  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  3G9 

by  this  accursed  Diagram  Michael  the  Lion-like.  Again, 
Celsus  says  that  the  "  second  in  order  is  a  bull ; "  whereas  the 
Diagram  which  we  possessed  made  him  to  be  Suriel,  the  bull- 
like. Further,  Celsus  termed  the  third  "  an  amphibious  sort 
of  animal,  and  one  that  hissed  frightfully;"  while  the  Diagram 
described  the  third  as  Raphael,  the  serpent-like.  Moreover, 
Celsus  asserted  that  the  "  fourth  had  the  form  of  an  eagle  ;  " 
the  Diagram  representing  him  as  Gabriel,  the  eagle-like.  Again, 
the  "  fifth,"  according  to  Celsus,  "  had  the  countenance  of  a 
bear  ;"  and  this,  according  to  the  Diagram,  was  Thauthabaoth,^ 
the  bear-like.  Celsus  continues  his  account,  that  the  "  sixth 
was  described  as  having  the  face  of  a  dog;"  and  him  the 
Diagram  called  Erataoth.  The  "  seventh,"  he  adds,  "  had  the 
countenance  of  an  ass,  and  was  named  Thaphabaoth  or  Onoel;" 
whereas  we  discovered  that  in  the  Diagram  he  is  called  Onoel, 
or  Thartharaoth,  being  somewhat  asinine  in  appearance.  We 
have  thought  it  proper  to  be  exact  in  stating  these  matters,  that 
we  might  not  appear  to  be  ignorant  of  those  things  which  Cel- 
sus professed  to  know,  but  that  we  Christians,  knowing  them 
better  than  he,  may  demonstrate  that  these  are  not  the  words 
of  Christians,  but  of  those  who  are  altogether  alienated  from 
salvation,  and  who  neither  acknowledge  Jesus  as  Saviour,  nor 
God,  nor  teacher,  nor  Son  of  God. 

Chapter  xxxi. 

Moreover,  if  any  one  would  wish  to  become  acquainted  with 
the  artifices  of  those  sorcerers,  through  which  they  desire  to 
lead  men  away  by  their  teaching  (as  if  they  possessed  the  know- 
ledge of  certain  secret  rite.s),  but  are  not  at  all  successful  in  so 
doing,  let  him  listen  to  the  instruction  which  they  receive  after 
passing  through  what  is  termed  the  "  fence  of  wickedness,"" — 
gates  which  are  subjected  to  the  world  of  ruling  spirits.^  [The 
following,  then,  is  the  manner  in  which  they  proceed]  :   "  I 

^  "  Nescio,  an  lioeresium  Scriptores  liujus  Tliauthabaoth,  Erataoth,  Tha- 
phabaoth, Onoeles,  et  Thartharaoth,  usquam  meminerint.  Hiijus  generis 
vocabula  innumera  inveuies  apud  Epiphan.  Hair.  31,  quae  est  Valentrai- 
anorum,  pp.  165-171." — Spencer. 

^  'Tirv'kxg  dp'^^'JTUU  oiiu'jt  Oihifiiva;. 
OKIG. — VOL.  II.  2  A 


370  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  m. 

salute  the  one-formed^  kinrr,  the  bond  of  blindness,  complete" 
oblivion,  the  first  power,  preserved  by  the  spirit  of  providence 
and  by  wisdom,  from  whom  I  am  sent  forth  pure,  being  already 
part  of  the  light  of  the  son  and  of  the  father :  grace  be  with  me  ; 
yea,  O  father,  let  it  be  with  me."  They  say  also  that  the  begin- 
nings of  the  Ogdoad  ^  are  derived  from  this.  In  tlie  next  place, 
they  are  taught  to  say  as  follows,  while  passing  through  what 
they  call  laldabaoth  :  "  Thou,  O  first  and  seventh,  who  art  born 
to  command  with  confidence,  thou,  O  laldabaoth,  who  art  the 
rational  ruler  of  a  pure  mind,  and  a  perfect  work  to  son  and 
father,  bearing  the  symbol  of  life  in  the  character  of  a  type,  and 
opening  to  the  world  the  gate  which  thou  didst  close  against 
thy  kingdom,  I  pass  again  in  freedom  through  thy  realm.  Let 
grace  be  with  me  ;  yea,  O  father,  let  it  be  with  me."  They 
say,  moreover,  that  the  star  Phjenon^  is  in  sympathy^  with  the 
lion-like  ruler.  They  nest  imagine  that  he  who  has  passed 
through  laldabaoth  and  arrived  at  lao  ought  thus  to  speak  : 
"  Thou,  O  second  lao,  who  shinest  by  night,*"  who  art  the  ruler 
of  the  secret  mysteries  of  sou  and  father,  first  prince  of  death, 
and  poi'tion  of  the  innocent,  bearing  now  mine  own  beard  as 
symbol,  I  am  ready  to  pass  through  thy  realm,  having  strength- 
ened him  who  is  born  of  thee  by  the  living  word.  Grace  be 
with  me ;  father,  let  it  be  with  me."  They  next  come  to  Sabaoth, 
to  whom  they  think  the  following  should  be  addressed :  "  O 
governor  of  the  fifth  realm,  powerful  Sabaoth,  defender  of  the 
law  of  thy  creatures,  who  are  liberated  by  thy  grace  through 
the  help  of  a  more  powerful  Pentad,^  admit  me,  seeing  the 
faultless  symbol  of  their  art,  preserved  by  the  stamp  of  an 
image,  a  body  liberated  by  a  Pentad.  Let  grace  be  with  me, 
O  father,  let  grace  be  with  nic."  And  after  Sabaoth  they 
<;ome  to  Astaphseus,  to  whom  they  believe  the  following  prayer 
should  be  offered  :    "  O  Astaphseus,  ruler  of  the  third   gate, 

•*  'OyooctSo;.  Cf.  Tertullian,  de  ■prsescript.  adv.  Hmrcticoa,  c.  33  {Ante- 
Nicene  Library ;  Writings  of  Tertullian,  vol.  ii.  p.  39),  and  other  references 
in  Benedictine  ed. 

•*  <i>iiivuv.  "  Ea,  quae  Saturni  stella  dicitur,  ibxivuv  a  Grsecis  dicitur." — 
Cicero,  de  Nat.  Deorum,  book  ii. 

^  avu,7ru6uv.  ^  i/vy.roJ)uv>s.  '  ts'jtiHi  ovvxruripx. 


Book  VI.]  OllIGEN  AGAINST  CELSVS.  G71 

overseer  of  the  first  principle  of  water,  look  upon  me  as  one  of 
thine  initiated/  admit  me  who  ain  purified  with  the  spirit  of  a 
virsin,  thou  who  seest  the  essence  of  the  world.  Let  2;race  be 
with  me,  O  father,  let  grace  be  with  me."  After  him  comes 
Aloseus,  who  is  to  be  thus  addressed :  "  O  Aloaeus,  governor 
of  the  second  gate,  let  me  pass,  seeing  I  bring  to  thee  the  sym- 
bol of  thy  mother,  a  grace  which  is  hidden  by  the  powers  of 
the  realms.^  Let  grace  be  with  me,  O  father,  let  it  be  with 
me."  And  last  of  all  they  name  Horaeus,  and  think  that  the 
following  prayer  ought  to  be  offered  to  him  :  "  Thou  who  didst 
fearlessly  overleap  the  rampart  of  fire,  O  Horeeus,  who  didst 
obtain  the  government  of  the  first  gate,  let  me  pass,  seeing 
thou  beholdest  the  symbol  of  thine  own  power,  sculptured^  on 
the  figure  of  the  tree  of  life,  and  formed  after  this  image,  in 
the  likeness  of  innocence.  Let  grace  be  with  me,  O  father, 
let  grace  be  with  me." 

Chapter  xxxii. 

The  supposed  great  learning  of  Celsus,  which  is  composed, 
however,  rather  of  curious  trifles  and  silly  talk  than  anything 

'  else,  has  made  us  touch  upon  these  topics,  from  a  wish  to  show 
to  every  one  who  peruses  his  treatise  and  our  reply,  that  we  have 
no  lack  of  information  on  those  subjects,  from  which  he  takes 

'  occasion  to  calumniate  the  Christians,  who  neither  are  acquainted 
with,  nor  concern  themselves  about,  such  matters.  For  we,  too, 
desired  both  to  learn  and  set  forth  these  things,  in  order  that 
sorcerers  might  not,  under  pretext  of  knowing  more  than  we, 
delude  those  who  are  easily  carried  away  by  the  glitter*  of 
names.  And  I  could  have  given  many  more  illustrations  to 
show  that  we  are  acquainted  with  the  opinions  of  these  de- 
luders,^  and  that  we  disown  them,  as  being  alien  to  ours,  and 
impious,  and  not  in  harmony  with  the  doctrines  of  true  Chris- 
tians, of  which  we  are  ready  to  make  confession  even  to  the 
death.  It  must  be  noticed,  too,  that  those  who  have  drawn  up 
this  array  of  fictions,  have,  from  neither  understanding  magic, 

^  y.varr.'j.  -  %c«?/i/  KOVTrroiicsvYiv  ^vvafisaiv  l^ovaiuv. 

3  For  Kurcc'hvSiv  Boherellus  conjectures  Kctruyy^v(pdeu,  'which  has  been 
adopted  in  the  translation. 

■*  fxvTXCiix;.  ^  ci-ctTiuvav. 


{ 


372  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

nor  discriminating  the  meaninn;  of  Holy  Scripture,  thrown  every- 
thing into  confusion ;  seeing  that  they  have  borrowed  from 
magic  the  names  of  laldabaoth,  and  Astapbreus,  and  Hora;us, 
and  from  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  him  who  is  termed  in  Hebrew 
lao  or  Jah,  and  Sabaoth,  and  AdonsBus,  and  Eloseus.  Now  the 
names  taken  from  the  Scriptures  are  names  of  one  and  tbe 
same  God  ;  which,  not  being  understood  by  the  enemies  of  God, 
as  even  themselves  acknowledge,  led  to  their  imagining  that  lao 
was  a  different  God,  and  Sabaoth  another,  and  Adonseus,  wdiom 
the  Scriptures  term  Adonai,  a  third  besides,  and  that  Eloasus, 
■whom  the  prophets  name  in  Hebrew  Eloi,  was  also  different. 

Chapter  xxxiii. 

Celsus  next  relates  other  fables,  to  the  effect  that  "  certain 
persons  return  to  the  shapes  of  the  archontics,^  so  that  some  are 
called  lions,  others  bulls,  others  dragons,  or  eagles,  or  bears,  or 
dogs."  \Ye  found  also  in  the  Diagram  which  we  possessed, 
and  which  Celsus  called  the  "square  pattern,"  the  statements" 
made  by  these  unhappy  beings  concerning  the  gates  of  Paradise. 
The  flaming  sword  was  depicted  as  the  diameter  of  a  flaming 
circle,  and  as  if  mounting  guard  over  the  tree  of  knowledge  and 
of  life.  Celsus,  however,  either  would  not  or  could  not  repeat 
the  harangues  which,  according  to  the  fables  of  these  impious 
individuals,  are  represented  as  spoken  at  each  of  the  gates  by 
those  who  pass  through  them  ;  but  this  we  have  done  in  order 
to  show  to  Celsus  and  those  who  read  his  treatise,  that  we  know 
the  depth  of  these  unhallowed  mysteries,^  and  that  they  are 
far  removed  from  the  worship  which  Christians  offer  up  to 
God. 

Chapter  xxxiv. 

After  finishinei:  the  foreo;oin(T,  and  those  analoo-ous  matters 
which  we  ourselves  have  added,  Celsus  continues  as  follows : 
"  They  continue  to  heap  together  one  thing  after  another, — 
discourses  of  prophets,  and  circles  upon  circles,  and  effluents'* 

-  Guietus  thinks  that  some  word  has  been  omitted  here,  as  £,i(?o;,  which 
seems  very  probable. 

"*  TO  T7i;  ccTi>\iaTOV  nT^iryi;  ■:7ipxg.  *  ctTroppoietf. 


(i 


Book  vi.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  373 

from  an  earthly  church,  and  from  circumcision ;  and  a  power 
flowing  from  one  Prunicos,  a  virgin  and  a  living  soul ;  and  a 
heaven  slain  in  order  to  live,  and  an  earth  slaughtered  by  the 
sword,  and  many  put  to  death  that  they  may  live,  and  death 
ceasing  in  the  world,  when  the  sin  of  the  world  is  dead ;  and, 
again,  a  narrow  way,  and  gates  that  open  spontaneously.  And 
in  all  their  writings  [is  mention  made]  of  the  tree  of  life,  and 
a  resurrection  of  the  flesh  by  means  ^  of  the  '  tree,'  because,  I 
imaffine,  their  teacher  was  nailed  to  a  cross,  and  was  a  carpenter 
by  trade ;  so  that  if  he  had  chanced  to  have  been  cast  from  a 
precipice,  or  thrust  into  a  pit,  or  suffocated  by  hanging,  or  had 
been  a  leather-cutter,  or  stone-cutter,  or  worker  in  iron,  there 
•would  have  been  [invented]  a  precipice  of  life  beyond  the 
heavens,  or  a  pit  of  resurrection,  or  a  cord  of  immortality,  or  a 
blessed  stone,  or  an  iron  of  love,  or  a  sacred  leather!  Now 
what  old  woman  would  not  be  ashamed  to  utter  such  things  in 
a  whisper,  even  when  making  stories  to  lull  an  infant  to  sleep  ?  " 
In  using  such  language  as  this,  Celsus  appears  to  me  to  con- 
fuse together  matters  which  he  has  imperfectly  heard.  For  it 
seems  likely  that,  even  supposing  that  he  had  heard  a  few  words 
traceable  to  some  existing  heresy,  he  did  not  clearly  understand 
the  meaning  intended  to  be  conveyed ;  but  heaping  the  words 
together,  he  wished  to  show  before  those  who  knew  nothing 
either  of  our  opinions  or  of  those  of  the  heretics,  that  he  was 
acquainted  with  all  the  doctrines  of  the  Christians.  And  this 
is  evident  also  from  the  foregoing  words. 

Chapter  xxxv. 

It  is  our  practice,  indeed,  to  make  use  of  the  words  of  the 
prophets,  who  demonstrate  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  predicted 
by  them,  and  who  show  from  the  prophetic  writings  that  the 
events  in  the  Gospels  I'egarding  Jesus  have  been  fulfilled.  But 
when  Celsus  speaks  of  "  circles  upon  circles,"  [he  perhaps  bor- 
rowed the  expression]  from  the  aforementioned  heresy,  which 
includes  in  one  circle  (which  they  call  the  soul  of  all  things, 
and  Leviathan)  the  seven  circles  of  archontic  demons,  or  per- 
haps it  arises  from  misunderstanding  the  preacher,  when  he 
says  :  "  The  wind  goeth  in  a  circle  of  circles,  and  returneth  again 


374  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

upon  its  circles."'  ^  The  expression,  too,  "  effluents  of  an  earthly 
church  and  of  circumcision,"  was  probably  taken  from  the  fact 
that  the  church  on  earth  was  called  by  some  an  effluent  from  a 
heavenly  church  and  a  better  world ;  and  that  the  circumcision 
described  in  the  law  was  a  symbol  of  the  circumcision  performed 
there,  in  a  certain  place  set  apart  for  purification.  The  adher- 
ents of  Valentinus,  moreovei",  in  keeping  with  their  system  of 
error,^  give  the  name  of  Prunicos  to  a  certain  kind  of  wisdom, 
of  which  they  would  have  the  woman  afflicted  with  the  twelve 
years'  issue  of  blood  to  be  the  symbol ;  so  that  Celsus,  who 
confuses  together  all  sorts  of  opinions — Greek,  Barbarian,  and 
Heretical — having  heard  of  her,  asserted  that  it  was  a  power 
flowing  forth  from  one  Prunicos,  a  virgin.  The  "  living  soul," 
again,  is  perhaps  mysteriously  referred  by  some  of  the  followers 
of  Valentinus  to  the  being  whom  they  term  the  psychic^  creator 
of  the  world;  or  perhaps,  in  contradistinction  to  a  "  dead" 
soul,  the  "  living  "  soul  is  termed  by  some,  not  inelegantly,^  the 
soul  of  "  him  who  is  saved."  I  know  nothing,  however,  of  a 
"  heaven  which  is  said  to  be  slain,"  or  of  an  "  earth  slaughtered 
by  the  sword,"  or  of  many  persons  slain  in  order  tliat  they 
might  live ;  for  it  is  not  unlikely  that  these  Avere  coined  by 
Celsus  out  of  his  own  brain. 

Chapter  xxxvi. 

We  would  say,  moreover,  that  death  ceases  in  the  world  when 
the  sin  of  the  world  dies,  referring  the  saying  to  the  mystical 
words  of  the  apostle,  which  run  as  follows  :  ''  When  He  shall 
have  put  all  enemies  under  His  feet,  then  the  last  enemy  that 
shall  be  destroyed  is  death." ^  And  also:  "When  this  corruptible 
shall  have  put  on  incorruption,  then  shall  be  brought  to  pass  the 
saying  that  is  written.  Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory."  *^  The 
"  strait  descent," '  ^igain?  may  perhaps  be  referred  by  those 
who  hold  the  doctrine  of  transmigration  of  souls  to  that  view  of 
things.     And  it  is  not  incredible  that  the  gates  which  are  said 

^  Eccles.  i.  6  (literally  rendered). 

-    KCCTIX,  TT'^U  ■niTiy^C/.rf.i.c'iyfi'J   'iXVTiJV  <jO<Pixy. 

"  i^vx'y-ou  Znfuovpycy.  *  ovk  dyivvcig. 

*  Cf.  1  Cor.  XV.  25,  26.  .  «  Cf.  1  Cor.  xv.  .'54  ;  cf.  Hos.  xiii.  14. 

'  KxdoOov  orsv'/iv. 


Boo£  VI. J  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  375 

to  open  spontaneously  are  referred  obscurely  by  some  to  the 
words,  '■'  Open  to  me  the  gates  of  righteousness,  that  I  may 
go  into  them,  and  praise  the  Lord ;  this  gate  of  the  Lord,  into 
it  the  righteous  shall  enter  ;"^  and  again,  to  what  is  said  in  the 
ninth  psalm,  "  Thou  that  lif test  me  up  from  the  gates  of  death, 
that  I  may  show  forth  all  Thy  praise  in  the  gates  of  the 
daughter  of  Zion."  ^  The  Scripture  further  gives  the  name  of 
"  gates  of  death"  to  those  sins  which  lead  to  destruction,  as  it 
terms,  on  the  contrary,  good  actions  the  "  gates  of  Zion."  So 
also  "  the  gates  of  righteousness,"  which  is  an  equivalent  expres- 
sion to  "  the  gates  of  virtue,"  and  these  are  ready  to  be  opened 
to  him  who  follows  after  virtuous  pursuits.  The  subject  of  the 
''  tree  of  life "  will  be  more  appi'opriately  explained  when  we 
interpret  the  statements  in  the  book  of  Genesis  regarding  the 
paradise  planted  by  God.  Celsus,  moreover,  has  often  mocked 
at  the  subject  of  a  resurrection, — a  doctrine  which  he  did  not 
comprehend;  and  on  the  present  occasion,  not  satisfied  with 
what  he  has  formerly  said,  he  adds,  "  And  there  is  said  to  be 
a  resurrection  of  the  flesh  by  means  of  the  tree ; "  not  under- 
standing, I  think,  the  symbolical  expression,  that  "  through  the 
tree  came  death,  and  through  the  tree  comes  life,"  ^  because 
death  was  in  Adam,  and  life  in  Christ.  He  next  scoffs  at  the 
"  tree,"  assailing  it  on  two  grounds,  and  saying,  "  For  this 
reason  is  the  tree  introduced,  either  because  our  teacher  was 
nailed  to  a  cross,  or  because  he  was  a  carpenter  by  trade ; "  not 
observing  that  the  tree  of  life  is  mentioned  in  the  Mosaic  writ- 
ings, and  being  blind  also  to  this,  that  in  none  of  the  Gospels 
current  in  the  churches  is  Jesus  Himself  ever  described  as 
being  a  carpenter.^ 

Chapter  xxxvii. 

Celsus,  moreover,  thinks  that  we  have  invented  this  "  tree 
of  life  "  to  give  an  allegorical  meaning  to  the  cross  ;  and  in 
consequence  of  his  error  upon  this  point,  he  adds :  "  If  he  had 
happened  to  be  cast  down  a  precipice,  or  shoved  into  a  pit,  or 
suffocated  by  hanging,  there  would  have  been  invented  a  pre- 
cipice of  life  far  beyond  the  heavens,  or  a  pit  of  resurrection,  or 

1  Cf.  Ps.  cxviii.  19,  20.  -  Cf.  Ps.  ix.  13,  14. 

3  Cf.  1  Cor.  XV.  22.  *  Cf.,  however,  Mark  vi.  3. 


376  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

;i  cord  of  immortalit}'."  And  a^rain :  "  If  the  '  tree  of  life ' 
were  an  invention,  because  lie  (Jesus)  [is  reported]  to  have 
been  a  carpenter,  it  would  follow  that  if  he  had  been  a  leather- 
cutter,  something  would  have  been  said  about  holy  leather; 
or  had  he  been  a  stone-cutter,  about  a  blessed  stone  ;  or  if  a 
worker  in  iron,  about  an  iron  of  love."  Now,  who  does  not  see 
at  once^  the  paltry  nature  of  his  charge,  in  thus  calumniating 
men  whom  he  professed  to  convert  on  the  ground  of  their 
being  deceived?  And  after  these  remarks,  he  goes  on  to 
speak  in  a  way  quite  in  harmony  with  the  tone  of  those  who 
have  invented  the  fictions  of  lion-like,  and  ass-headed,  and  ser- 
pent-like ruling  angels,-  and  other  similar  absurdities,  but  which 
does  not  affect  those  who  belong  to  the  church.  Of  a  truth, 
even  a  drunken  old  woman  would  be  ashamed  to  chaunt  or 
whisper  to  an  infant,  in  order  to  lull  him  to  sleep,  any  such 
fables  as  those  have  done  who  invented  the  beings  with  asses' 
heads,  and  the  harangues,  so  to  speak,  which  are  delivered 
at  each  of  the  gates.  But  Celsus  is  not  acquainted  with  the 
Idoctrines  of  the  members  of  the  church,  which  very  few  have 
been  able  to  comprehend,  even  of  those  who  have  devoted  all 
their  lives,  in  conformity  with  the  command  of  Jesus,  to  the 
searching  of  the  Scriptures,  and  have  laboured  to  investigate 
\  the  meaning  of  the  sacred  books,  to  a  greater  degree  than  Greek 
'philosophers  in  their  efforts  to  attain  a  so-called  wisdom. 

Chapter  xxxviii. 

Our  noble  [friend],  moreover,  not  satisfied  with  the  objec- 
tions which  he  has  drawn  from  the  Diagram,  desires,  in  order 
to  strengthen  his  accusations  against  us,  who  have  nothing  in 
common  with  it,  to  introduce  certain  other  charges,  which  he 
adduces  from  the  same  [heretics],  but  yet  as  if  they  were  from 
a  different  source.  His  words  are  :  "And  that  is  not  the  least 
of  their  marvels,  for  there  are  between  the  upper  circles — those 
that  are  above  the  heavens — certain  inscriptions  of  which  they 
give  the  interpretation,  and  among  others  two  words  especially, 
'a  greater  and  a  less,'  which  they  refer  to  Father  and  Son."  " 
Now,  in  the  Diagram  referred  to,  we  found  the  greater  and 

^  uvTodsv.  ^  upx,ovTas. 

3  oLXha  T:,  K»l  o'Jo  a-zrct,  ysl^ov  rs  x.ci\  f^iKpiTipov  vicu  x,otl  vurpo;. 


Boouvi.]  OlilGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  377 

the  lesser  circle,  upon  the  diameter  of  which  was  inscribed 
"Father  and  Son;"  and  between  the  greater  circle  (in  which 
the  lesser  was  contained)  and  another  ^  composed  of  two  circles, 
— the  outer  one  of  which  was  yellow,  and  the  inner  blue, — a 
barrier  inscribed  in  the  shape  of  a  hatchet.  And  above  it,  a 
short  circle,  close  to  the  greater  of  the  two  former,  having  the 
inscription  "Love;"  and  lower  down,  one  touching  the  same 
circle,  with  the  word  "  Life."  And  on  the  second  circle,  which 
was  intertwined  with  and  included  two  other  circles,  another 
figure,  like  a  rhomboid,  [entitled]  "The  foresight  of  wisdom." 
And  within  their  point  of  common  section  was  "  The  nature  of 
wisdom."  And  above  their  point  of  common  section  was  a 
circle,  on  which  was  inscribed  "Knowledge;"  and  lower  down 
another,  on  which  was  the  inscription,  "  Understanding."  We 
have  introduced  these  matters  into  our  reply  to  Celsus,  to  show 
to  our  readers  that  we  know  better  than  he,  and  not  by  mere 
'  report,  those  things,  even  although  we  also  disapprove  of  them. 
Moreover,  if  those  who  pride  themselves  upon  such  matters 
profess  also  a  kind  of  magic  and  sorcery, — which,  in  their 
opinion,  is  the  summit  of  wisdom, — we,  on  the  other  hand, 
make  no  affirmation  about  it,  seeing  we  never  have  discovered 
anything  of  the  kind.  Let  Celsus,  however,  who  has  been 
already  often  convicted  of  false  witness  and  irrational  accusa- 
tions, see  whether  he  is  not  guilty  of  falsehood  in  these  also,  or 
whether  he  has  not  extracted  and  introduced  into  his  treatise, 
statements  taken  from  the  writings  of  those  who  are  foreigners 
and  strangers  to  our  Christian  faith. 

Chapter  xxxix. 

In  the  next  place,  speaking  of  those  who  employ  the  arts 
of  magic  and  sorcery,  and  who  invoke  the  barbarous  names  of 
demons,  he  remarks  that  such  persons  act  like  those  who,  in 
reference  to  the  same  things,"  perform  marvels  before  those 
wiio  are  ignorant  that  the  names  of  demons  among  the  Greeks 
are  different  from  what  they  are  among  the  Scythians.      He 

1  For  cc>.'?^ov;,  the  textual  reading,  Gelenius,  -Rith  the  approval  of 
Boherellus,  proposes  xal  aXAoy  cvyKeifiiuou,  which  has  been  followed  in  the 
translation. 

"  iTTt  rol;  oc,vro7;  u—oKnuiuoi;. 


378  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

then  quotes  a  passage  from  Herodotus,  stating  that  "  Apollo 
is  called  Gongosyrus  by  the  Scythians;  Poseidon,  Thagima- 
sada ;  Aphrodite,  Argimpasan ;  Hestia,  Tahiti."  ^     Now,  he  who 
(has  the  capacity  can  inquire  whether  in  these  matters  Celsus 
and  Herodotus  are  not  both  wrong ;  for  the  Scythians  do  not 
understand  the  same  thing  as  the  Greeks,  in  what  relates  to 
those  beings  which  are  deemed  to  be  gods.      For  how  is  it 
credible"  that   Apollo  should   be  called    Gongosyrus   by  the 
Scythians?     I  do  not  suppose  that  Gongosyrus,  when  trans- 
ferred into  the  Greek  language,  yields  the  same  etymology  as 
Apollo;   or  that  Apollo,  in  the  dialect  of  the  Scythians,  has 
the  signification  of  Gongosyrus.     Nor  has  any  such  assertion 
hitherto  been  made  regarding  the  other  names,"  for  the  Greeks 
took  occasion  from  different  circumstances  and  etymologies  to 
give  to  those  who  are  by  them  deemed  gods  the  names  which 
they  bear;  and  the  Scythians,  again,  from  another  set  of  cir- 
cumstances ;   and  the  same  also  was  the  case  with  the  Persians, 
or  Indians,  or  Ethiopians,  or  Libyans,  or  with  those  who  delight 
to  bestow  names  [from  fancy],  and  who  do  not  abide  by  the 
just  and  pure  idea  of  the  Creator  of  all  things.     Enough,  how- 
ever, has  been  said  by  us  in  the  preceding  pages,  where  we 
wished  to  demonstrate  that  Sabaoth  and  Zeus  were  not  the 
same  deity,  and  where  also   we  made  some   remarks,  derived 
from  the  Holy  Scriptures,  regarding  the  different  dialects.    We 
willingly,  then,  pass  by  these  points,  on  which  Celsus  would 
make  us  repeat  ourselves.      In  the  next  place,  again,  mixing 
up  together  matters  which  belong  to  magic  and  sorcery,  and 
referring  them  perhaps  to  no  one, — because  of  the  non-existence 
of  any  who  practise  magic  under  pretence  of  a  worship  of  this 
character, — and  yet,  perhaps,  having    in  view  some  who    do 
employ  such  practices  in  the  presence  of  the  simple  (that  they 
may  have  the  appearance  of  acting  by  divine  power),  he  adds : 
"  What  need  to  number  up  all  those  who  have  taught  methods 
of  purification,  or  expiatory  hymns,  or  spells  for  averting  evil, 
or  [the  making  of]   images,  or  resemblances  of  demons,  or  the 

^  Cf.  Herodot.  iv.  9. 

^  For  the  textual  rcuding,   oC-:tu  os   ovoi  -^ipi  ruv  y^oi'^ruv  rxi/rov  ri  ipu, 
Boherellus  conjectures  itpnTxt,  which  has  been  adopted  in  the  trauslatiou. 


Book  vi.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  379 

various  sorts  of  antidotes  against  poison  [to  be  found]  ^  in 
clothes,  or  in  numbers,  or  stones,  or  plants,  or  roots,  or  generally 
in  all  kinds  of  things?"  In  respect  to  these  matters,  reason 
does  not  require  us  to  offer  any  defence,  since  we  are  not  liable 
in  the  slightest  degree  to  suspicions  of  such  a  nature. 

Chapter  xl. 

After  these  things,  Celsus  appears  to  me  to  act  like  those 
who,  in  their  intense  hatred  of  the  Christians,  maintain,  in  the 
presence  of  those  who  are  utterly  ignorant  of  the  Christian 
faith,  that  they  have  actually  ascertained  that  Christians  devour 
the  flesh  of  infants,  and  give  themselves  without  restraint  to 
sexual  intercourse  with  their  women.  Now,  as  these  statements 
have  been  condemned  as  falsehoods  invented  against  the  Chris- 
tians, and  this  admission  made  by  the  multitude  and  those  alto- 
gether aliens  to  our  faith ;  so  would  the  following  statements 
of  Celsus  be  found  to  be  calumnies  invented  against  the  Chris- 
tians, where  he  says  that  "  he  has  seen  in  the  hands  of  certain 
presbyters  belonging  to  our  faith  ^  bai'barous  books,  containing 
the  names  and  marvellous  doings  of  demons;"  asserting  further, 
that  "  these  presbyters  of  our  faith  professed  to  do  no  good, 
but  all  that  was  calculated  to  injure  human  beings."  Would, 
indeed,  that  all  that  is  said  by  Celsus  against  the  Christians 
was  of  such  a  nature  as  to  be  refuted  by  the  multitude,  who 
have  ascertained  by  experience  that  such  things  are  untrue, 
seeing  that  most  of  them  have  lived  as  neio;hbours  with  the 
Christians,  and  have  not  even  heard  of  the  existence  of  any 
such  alleged  practices  ! 

Chapteh  xli. 

In  the  next  place,  as  if  he  had  forgotten  that  it  was  his 
object  to  write  against  the  Christians,  he  says  that,  "  having 
become  acquainted  with  one  Dionysius,  an  Egyptian  musician, 
the  latter  told  him,  with  respect  to  magic  arts,  that  it  was  only 
over  the  uneducated  and  men  of  corrupt  morals  that  they  had 
any  power,  while  on  philosophers  they  were  unable  to  produce 

^  For  atadnruv^  Lommatzsch  adopts  the  conjecture  of  Boherellus,  approved 
by  Ruaeus,  iaS'^Tuv. 
2  lo^ns. 


380  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vr. 

any  effect,  because  they  were  careful  to  observe  a  healthy  man- 
ner of  life.''  If,  now,  it  had  been  our  purpose  to  treat  of  magic, 
we  could  have  added  a  few  remarks  in  addition  to  what  we 
have  already  said  on  this  topic ;  but  since  it  is  only  the  more 
important  matters  which  we  have  to  notice  in  answer  to  Celsus, 
we  shall  say  of  magic,  that  any  one  who  chooses  to  inquire 
whether  philosophers  were  ever  led  captive  by  it  or  not,  can 
read  what  has  been  written  by  Moiragenes  regarding  the 
memoirs  of  the  magician  and  philosopher  ApoUonius  of  Tyana, 
in  which  this  individual,  who  is  not  a  Christian,  but  a  philoso- 
pher, asserts  that  some  philosophers  of  no  mean  note  were  won 
over  by  the  magic  power  possessed  by  ApoUonius,  and  resorted 
to  him  as  a  sorcerer ;  and  among  these,  I  think,  he  especially 
mentioned  Euphrates  and  a  certain  Epicurean.  Now  we,  on 
the  other  hand,  affirm,  and  have  learned  by  experience,  that 
they  who  worship  the  God  of  all  things  in  conformity  with  the 
Christianity  which  comes  by  Jesus,  and  who  live  according  to 
iHis  gospel,  using  night  and  day,  continuously  and  becomingly, 
the  prescribed  prayers,  are  not  carried  away  either  by  magic  or 
demons.  For  verily  "  the  angel  of  the  Lord  encamps  round 
about  them  that  fear  Him,  and  delivereth  them"^  from  all 
evil ;  and  the  angels  of  the  little  ones  in  the  church,  who  are 
appointed  to  watch  over  them,  are  said  always  to  behold  the 
face  of  their  Father  who  is  in  heaven,"  whatever  be  the  mean- 
in£i  of  "  face  "  or  of  "  behold." 

Chapter  xlii. 

After  these  matters,  Celsus  brings  the  following  charges 
against  us  from  another  quarter :  "  Certain  most  impious  errors," 
he  says,  "  are  committed  by  them,  due  to  their  extreme  igno- 
rance, in  which  they  have  wandered  away  from  the  meaning  of 
the  divine  enigmas,  creating  an  adversary  to  God,  the  devil, 
and  naming  him  in  the  Hebrew  tongue,  Satan.  Now,  of  a 
truth,  such  statements  are  altogether  of  mortal  invention,^  and 
not  even  proper  to  be  repeated,  viz.  that  the  mighty  God,  in 
Plis  desire  to  confer  good  upon  men,  has  yet  one  counterwork- 

1  Cf.  Ps.  xxxiv.  7.  2  cf,  jiiatt.  xviii.  10. 

^  6i/r,rcc.  Instead  of  this  reading,  Guietus  conjectures  7rT>ixT«,  which  is 
approved  of  by  Ruaeus. 


Book  vi.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  S81 

ing  Him,  and  is  helpless.  The  Son  of  God,  it  follows,  is  van- 
quished by  the  devil ;  and  being  punished  by  him,  teaches  us 
also  to  despise  the  punishments  which  he  inflicts,  telling  us 
beforehand  that  Satan,  after  appearing  to  men  as  He  Himself 
had  done,  will  exhibit  great  and  marvellous  works,  claiming  for 
himself  the  glory  of  God,  but  that  those  who  wish  to  keep  him 
at  a  distance  ought  to  pay  no  attention  to  these  works  of  Satan, 
but  to  place  their  faith  in  Him  alone.  Such  statements  are 
manifestly  the  words  of  a  deluder,  planning  and  manoeuvring 
against  those  who  are  opposed  to  his  views,  and  who  rank  them- 
selves against  them."  In  the  next  place,  desiring  to  point  out 
the  "  enigmas,"  our  mistakes  regarding  which  lead  to  the  intro- 
duction of  our  views  concerning  Satan,  he  continues  :  "  The 
ancients  allude  obscurely  to  a  certain  war  among  the  gods, 
Heraclitus  speaking  thus  of  it :  '  If  one  must  say  that  there  is 
a  general  war  and  discord,  and  that  all  things  are  done  and 
administered  in  strife.'  Pherecydes,  again,  who  is  much 
older  than  Heraclitus,  relates  a  myth  of  one  army  drawn  up  in 
hostile  array  against  another,  and  names  Kronos  as  the  leader 
of  the  one,  and  Ophioneus  of  the  other,  and  recounts  their 
challenges  and  struggles,  and  mentions  that  agreements  were 
entered  into  between  them,  to  the  end  that  whichever  party 
should  fall  into  the  Ocean  ^  should  be  held  as  vanquished,  while 
those  who  had  expelled  and  conquered  them  should  have  pos- 
session of  heaven.  The  mysteries  relating  to  the  Titans  and 
Giants  also  had  some  such  [symbolical]  meaning,  as  well  as 
the  Egyptian  mysteries  of  Typhon,  and  Horus,  and  Osiris." 
After  having  made  such  statements,  and  not  having  got  over 
the  difficulty  -  as  to  the  way  in  which  these  accounts  contain  a 
higher  view  of  things,  while  our  accounts  are  erroneous  copies  of 
them,  he  continues  his  abuse  of  us,  remarking  that  "  these  are 
not  like  the  stories  which  are  related  of  a  devil,  or  demon,  or, 
as  he  remarks  with  more  truth,  of  a  man  who  is  an  impostor, 
who  wishes  to  establish  an  opposite  doctrine."  And  in  the  same 
Avay  he  understands  Homer,  as  if  he  referred  obscurely  to 
matters  similar  to  those  mentioned  by  Heraclitus,  and  Phere- 
cydes, and  the  originators  of  the  mysteries  about  the  Titans 
^  'Ciy/iuou,  i.e.  in  Oceanum,  Hesycb. ;  'H'/ijy,  ukixvo;,  Suid. 


382  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

and  Giants,  in    those   words  which   Hephsestus  addresses  to 
Hera,  as  follows : 

"  Once  in  your  cause  I  felt  liis  matchless  might, 

Hurled  headlong  downward  from  the  ethereal  height."  ^ 

And  in  those  of  Zeus  to  Hera : 

"  Hast  thou  forgot,  when  bound  and  fix'd  on  high 
From  the  vast  concave  of  the  spangled  sky, 
I  hung  thee  trembling  on  a  golden  chain. 
And  all  the  raging  gods  opposed  in  vain  ? 
Headlong  I  hurled  them  from  the  Olympian  hall, 
Stunn'd  in  the  whirl,  and  breathless  with  the  fall."  ^ 

Interpreting,  moreover,  the  words  of  Homer,  he  adds  :  "  The 
words  of  Zeus  addressed  to  Hera  are  the  words  of  God  addressed 
to  matter;  and  the  words  addressed  to  matter  obscurely  signify 
that  the  matter  which  at  the  beginning  was  in  a  state  of  discord 
[with  God],  was  taken  by  Him,  and  bound  together  and  arranged 
under  laws,  which  may  be  analogically  compared  to  chains;^  and 
that  by  way  of  chastising  the  demons  who  create  disorder  in  it, 
he  hurls  them  down  headlong  to  this  lower  world."  These  words 
of  Homer,  he  alleges,  were  so  understood  by  Pherecydes,  when 
he  said  that  beneath  that  region  is  the  region  of  Tartarus, 
which  is  guarded  by  the  Harpies  and  Tempest,  daughters  of 
Boreas,  and  to  which  Zeus  banishes  any  one  of  the  gods  who  be- 
comes disorderly.  "With  the  same  ideas  also  are  closely  connected 
the  peplos  of  Athena,  which  is  beheld  by  all  in  the  procession 
of  the  Panatliena'a.  For  it  is  manifest  from  this,  he  continues, 
that  a  motherless  and  unsullied  demon  ^  has  the  mastery  over 
the  daring  of  the  Giants.  While  accepting,  moreover,  the 
fictions  of  the  Greeks,  he  continues  to  heap  against  us  such 
accusations  as  the  following,  viz.,  that  "  the  Son  of  God  is 
punished  by  the  devil,  and  teaches  us  that  we  also,  when 
punished  by  him,  ought  to  endure  it.  Now  these  statements  are 
altogether  ridiculous.  For  it  is  the  devil,  I  think,  who  ought 
rather  to  be  punished,  and  those  human  beings  who  are  calum- 
niated by  him  ought  not  to  be  threatened  with  chastisement." 

^  Cf.  lUad^  book  i.  v.  690,  Pope's  translation. 
2  Cf.  Iliad,  book  xv.  vv.  18-24,  Pope's  translation. 
"  ccvoc'hoytatg  rial  avuihri<n  xal  iKOfT/HYiuiv  6  ©so'j. 
■*  df^'/irup  Tig  x,ui  oi)cpccuTO£  })u.i/Awv. 


Book  VI.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  383 

Chapter  xliii. 

Mark  now,  whether  he  who  charges  us  v/ith  having  com- 
mitted errors  of  the  most  impious  kind,  and  with  having 
wandered  away  from  the  [true  meaning]  of  the  divine  enig- 
mas, is  not  himself  clearly  in  error,  from  not  observing  that 
in  the  writings  of  Moses,  which  are  much  older  not  merely 
than  Heraclitus  and  Pherecydes,  but  even  than  Homer,  men- 
tion is  made  of  this  wicked  one,  and  of  his  having  fallen 
from  heaven.  For  the  serpent  ^ — from  whom  the  Ophioneus 
spoken  of  by  Pherecydes  is  derived — having  become  the  cause 
of  man's  expulsion  from  the  divine  Paradise,  obscurely  shadows 
forth  something  similar,  having  deceived  the  woman  ^  by  a 
promise  of  divinity  and  of  greater  blessings  ;  and  her  example 
is  said  to  have  been  followed  also  by  the  man.  And,  further, 
who  else  could  the  destroying  angel  mentioned  in  the  Exodus 
of  Moses  ^  be,  than  he  who  was  the  author  of  destruction 
to  them  that  obeyed  him,  and  did  not  withstand  his  wicked 
deeds,  nor  struggle  against  them?-  Moreover,  [the  goat], 
which  in  the  book  of  Leviticus  ^  is  sent  away  [into  the  wilder- 
ness], and  which  in  the  Hebrew  language  is  named  Azazel, 
was  none  other  than  this  ;  and  it  was  necessary  to  send  it  away 
into  the  desert,  and  to  treat  it  as  an  expiatory  sacrifice,  because 
on  it  the  lot  fell.  For  all  who  belong  to  the  "  worse  "  part,  on 
account  of  their  wickedness,  being  opposed  to  those  who  are 
God's  heritage,  are  deserted  by  God.  Nay,  with  respect  to  the 
sons  of  Belial  in  the  book  of  Judges,^  whose  sons  are  they  said 
to  be,  save  his,  on  account  of  their  wickedness  ?  And  besides 
all  these  instances,  in  the  book  of  Job,  which  is  older  even 
than  Moses  himself,  the  devil  is  distinctly  described  as  present- 
ing himself  before  God,*^  and  asking  for  power  against  Job, 
that  he  might  involve  him  in  trials "'  of  the  most  painful  kind  ; 
the  first  of  which  consisted  in  the  loss  of  all  his  goods  and  of 
his  children,  and  the  second  in  afflicting  the  whole  body  of 
Job  with  the  so-called  disease  of  elephantiasis.^    I  pass  by 

'  Cf.  Gen.  iii.  ^  to  9f,'kvripov  yvjog. 

s  Cf.  Ex.  xii.  23.  "  Cf.  Lev.  xvi.  8. 

^  tvxvrioi  01/7S;  toTj  u.'tto  tov  yJK'/jaov  rov  0£oS,  ipyi/i/.oi   iiai  ©roD. 
®  Cf.  Job  i.,  ii.  "  'TFipiaTocdidi.  ^  uypia  kxi(peiVTi. 


384  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

what  might  be  quoted  from  the  Gospels  regarding  the  devil 
who  tempted  the  Saviour,  that  I  may  not  appear  to  quote  in 
reply  to  Celsus  from  more  recent  writings  on  this  question. 
In  the  last  [chapter]  ^  also  of  Job,  in  which  the  Lord  utters  to 
Job  amid  tempest  and  clouds  what  is  recorded  in  the  book 
which  bears  his  name,  there  are  not  a  few  things  referring  to 
the  serpent.  I  have  not  yet  mentioned  the  passages  in  Ezekiel,^ 
where  he  speaks,  as  it  were,  of  Pharaoh,  or  Nebuchadnezzar, 
or  the  prince  of  Tyre ;  or  those  in  Isaiah,"  where  lament  is 
made  for  the  king  of  Babylon,  from  which  not  a  little  might 
be  learned  concerning  evil,  as  to  the  nature  of  its  origin  and 
generation,  and  as  to  how  it  derived  its  existence  from  some 
who  had  lost  their  wings/  and  who  had  followed  him  who  was 
the  first  to  lose  his  own. 

Chapter  xliv. 

For  it  is  impossible  that  the  good  which  is  the  result  of 
accident,  or  of  communication,  should  be  like  that  good  which 
comes  by  nature  ;  and  yet  the  former  will  never  be  lost  by  him 
who,  so  to  speakj  partakes  of  the  "  living  "  bread  with  a  view  to 
his  own  preservation.  But  if  it  should  fail  any  one,  it  must 
be  through  his  own  fault,  in  being  slothful  to  partake  of  this 
"  living  bread  "  and  "  genuine  drink,"  by  means  of  which  the 
wings,  nourished  and  watered,  are  fitted  for  their  purpose,  even 
according  to  the  saying  of  Solomon,  the  wisest  of  men,  con- 
cerning the  truly  rich  man,  that  "  he  made  to  himself  wings 
like  an  eagle,  and  returns  to  the  house  of  his  patron."^  For 
it  became  God,  who  knows  how  to  turn  to  proper  account  even 
those  who  in  their  wickedness  have  apostatized  from  Him,  to 
place  wickedness  of  this  sort  in  some  part  of  the  universe,  and 
to  appoint  a  training-school  of  virtue,  wherein  those  must 
exercise  themselves  who  would  desire  to  recover  in  a  "  lawful 
manner  "  ^  the  possession  [which  they  had  lost]  ;  in  order  that 
being  tested,  like  gold  in  the  fire,  by  the  wickedness  of  these, 
and  having  exerted  themselves  to  the  utmost  to  prevent  any- 
thing base  injuring  their  rational   nature,   they  may  appear 

1  Cf.  Job  xl.  20.  2  cf.  Ezek.  xxxii.  1-28.  ^  jga.  xiv.  4  sqq. 

*  'Trnpoppv/ioa-vruv.     Cf.  Book  iv.  c.  40.  *  Cf.  Prov.  xxiii.  5. 

«  Cf.  1  Tim.  ii.  6. 


Book  VI.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  385 

deserving  of  an  ascent  to  divine  things,  and  may  be  elevated 
by  the  Word  to  the  blessedness  which  is  above  all  things,  and 
so  to  speak,  to  the  very  summit  of  goodness.  Now  he  who  in 
the  Hebrew  language  is  named  Satan,  and  by  some  Satanas — 
as  being  more  iri  conformity  with  the  genius  of  the  Greek 
language — signifies,  when  translated  into  Greek,  "  adversary." 
But  every  one  who  prefers  vice  and  a  vicious  life,  is  (because 
acting  in  a  manner  contrary  to  virtue)  Satanas,  that  is,  an 
"  adversary  "  to  the  Son  of  God,  who  is  righteousness,  and 
truth,  and  wisdom.^  With  more  propriety,  however,  is  he 
called  "  adversary,"  who  was  the  first  among  those  that  were 
living  a  peaceful  and  happy  life  to  lose  his  wings,  and  to  fall 
from  blessedness  .  he  who,  according  to  Ezekiel,  walked  fault- 
lessly in  all  his  ways,  "  until  iniquity  was  found  in  him,"  "  and 
who  being  the  "  seal  of  resemblance "  and  the  "  crown  of 
beauty"  in  the  paradise  of  God,  being  filled  as  it  were  with 
good  things,  fell  into  destruction,  in  accordance  with  the  word 
which  said  to  him  in  a  mystic  sense  :  "  Thou  hast  fallen  into 
destruction,  and  shalt  not  abide  for  ever."  ^  We  have  ventured 
somewhat  rashly  to  make  these  few  remarks,  althougli  in  so 
doing  we  have  added  nothing  of  importance  to  this  treatise. 
If  any  one,  however,  who  has  leisure  for  the  examination  of 
the  sacred  writings,  should  collect  towther  from  all  sources 
and  form  into  one  body  of  doctrine  what  is  recorded  concern- 
ing the  origin  of  evil,  and  the  manner  of  its  dissolution,  he 
would  see  that  the  views  of  Moses  and  the  prophets  regarding 
Satan  had  not  been  even  dreamed  of  either  by  Celsus  or  any 
one  of  those  whose  soul  had  been  dragged  down,  and  torn 
away  from  God,  and  from  right  views  of  Him,  and  from  His 
word,  by  this  wicked  demon. 

Chapter  xlv. 

But  since  Celsus  rejects  the  statements  concerning  Anti- 
christ, as  it  is  termed,  having  neither  read  what  is  said  of  him 
in  the  book  of  Daniel  ■*  nor  in  the  writings  of  Paul,^  nor  what 
the  Saviour  in  the  Gospels*^  has  predicted  about  his  coming,  we 
must  make  a  few  remarks  upon  this  subject  also ;  because,  "  as 

1  Cf.  1  Cor.  i.  30.  2  cf.  Ezek.  sxviii.  15.         ^  cf.  Ezek.  xxviii.  19. 

4  Cf.  Dau.  viii.  23.         ^  Cf.  2  Thess.  ii.  3,  4.        6  cf.  UaXi.  xxiv.  4. 
ORIG. — VOL.  II.  2  B 


386  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

I  faces  do  not  resemble  faces,"  ^  so  also  neither  do  men's  "  hearts  " 
resemble  one  another.     It  is  certain,  then,  that  there  will  be 
diversities  amongst  the  hearts  of  men, — those  which  are  inclined 
to  virtue  not  being  all  modelled  and  shaped  towards  it  in  the 
same  or  like  degree ;  while  others,  through  neglect  of  virtue, 
rush  to  the  opposite  extreme.    And  amongst  the  latter  are  some 
in  whom  evil  is  deeply  engrained,  and  others  in  whom  it  is  less 
!  deeply  rooted.     Where  is  the  absurdity,  then,  in  holding  that 
there  exist  among  men,  so  to  speak,  two  extremes,^ — the  one  of 
!  virtue,  and  the  other  of  its  opposite ;  so  that  the  perfection  of 
j  virtue  dwells  in  the  man  who  realizes  the  ideal  given  in  Jesus, 
I  from  whom  there  flowed  to  the  human  race  so  great  a  conver- 
}  sion,  and  healing,  and  amelioration,  while  the  opposite  extreme 
i  is  in  the  man  who  embodies  the  notion  of  him  that  is  named 
'  Antichrist  ?     For  God,  comprehending  all  things  by  means  of 
His  foreknowledge,  and  foreseeing  what  consequences  would 
result  from  both  of  these,  wished  to  make  these  known  to  man- 
kind by  His  prophets,  that  those  who  understand  their  words 
might  be  familiarized  with  the  good,  and  be  on  their  guard 
against  its  opposite.     It  was  proper,  moreover,  that  the  one  of 
these  extremes,  and  the  best  of  the  two,  should  be  styled  the 
Son  of  God,  on  account  of  His  pre-eminence  ;  and  the  other, 
who  is  diametrically  opposite,  be  termed  the  son  of  the  wicked 
demon,  and  of  Satan,  and  of  the  devil.     And,  in  the  next  place, 
since  evil  is  specially  characterized  by  its  diffusion,  and  attains 
,  its  greatest  height  when  it  simulates  the   appearance  of  the 
j  good,  for  that  reason  are  signs,  and  marvels,  and  lying  miracles 
1  found  to  accompany  evil,  through  the  co-operation  of  its  father 
the  devil.      For,  far  surpassing  the  help  which  these  demons 
give  to  jugglers  (who  deceive  uien  for  the  basest  of  purposes), 
is  the  aid  which  the  devil  himself  affords  in  order  to  deceive  the 
human  race.     Paul,  indeed,  speaks  of  him  who  is  called  Anti- 
christ, describing,    though  with  a  certain  reserve,^  both  the 
manner,  and  time,  and  cause  of  his  coming  to  the  human  race. 
And  notice  whether  his  language  on  this  subject  is  not  most 
becoming,  and  undeserving  of  being  treated  with  even  the 

slitrhtest  deffree  of  ridicule, 
o  o 

^  Cf.  Prov.  xxvii.  19.  ^  ccKpornrxg. 

^  y.iTcc  Ttvog  i7riKpv\psu;.     Cf.  2  Tliess.  ii.  9. 


Book  VI. j  OIUGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  387 

Chapter  xlvi. 

It  is  thus  that  the  apostle  expresses  himself  :  ''  We  beseech 
you,  brethren,  by  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
by  our  gathering  together  unto  Him,  that  ye  be  not  soon  shaken 
in  mind,  or  be  troubled,  neither  by  word,  nor  by  spirit,  nor  by 
letter  as  from  us,  as  that  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  at  hand.  Let 
no  man  deceive  you  by  any  means :  for  that  day  shall  not  come, 
except  there  come  a  falling  away  first,  and  that  man  of  sin  be 
revealed,  the  son  of  perdition  ;  who  opposeth  and  exalteth  him- 
self above  all  that  is  called  God,  or  that  is  worshipped ;  so  that 
he  sitteth  in  the  temple  of  God,  showing  himself  that  he  is 
God.  Remember  ye  not,  that,  when  I  was  yet  with  you,  I  told 
you  these  things  ?  And  now  ye  know  what  withholdeth,  that  he 
might  be  revealed  in  his  time.  For  the  mystery  of  iniquity  dotli 
already  work :  only  He  who  now  letteth  will  let,  until  he  be 
taken  out  of  the  way.  And  then  shall  that  Wicked  be  revealed, 
whom  the  Lord  shall  consume  with  the  spirit  of  His  mouth, 
and  shall  destroy  with  the  brightness  of  His  coming :  even  him, 
whose  coming  is  after  the  working  of  Satan,  with  all  power, 
and  signs,  and  lying  wonders,  and  with  all  deceivableness  of 
unrighteousness  in  them  that  perish ;  because  they  received  not 
the  love  of  the  truth,  that  they  might  be  saved.  And  for  this 
cause  God  shall  send  them  strong  delusion,  that  they  should  be- 
lieve a  lie ;  that  they  all  might  be  damned  who  believed  not  the 
truth,  but  had  pleasure  in  unrighteousness."  ^  To  explain  each 
particular  here  referred  to  does  not  belong  to  our  present  pur- 
pose. The  prophecy  also  regarding  Antichrist  is  stated  in  the 
book  of  Daniel,  and  is  fitted  to  make  an  intelligent  and  candid 
reader  admire  the  words  as  truly  divine  and  prophetic  ;  for  in 
them  are  mentioned  the  things  relating  to  the  coming  king- 
dom, beginning  with  the  times  of  Daniel,  and  continuing  to 
the  destruction  of  the  world.  And  any  one  who  chooses  may 
read  it.  Observe,  however,  whether  the  prophecy  regarding 
Antichrist  be  not  as  follows  :  "  And  at  the  latter  time  of  their 
kingdom,  when  their  sins  are  coming  to  the  full,  there  shall  arise 
a  king,  bold  in  countenance,  and  understanding  riddles.  And 
his  power  shall  be  great,  and  he  shall  destroy  wonderfully,  and 
1  2  Thess.  ii.  1-12. 


388  OPdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

prosper,  and  practise ;  and  shall  destroy  mighty  men,  and  the 
holy  people.  And  the  yoke  of  his  chain  shall  prosper :  there 
is  craft  in  his  hand,  and  he  shall  magnify  himself  in  his  heart, 
and  by  craft  shall  destroy  many  ;  and  he  shall  stand  up  for 
the  destruction  of  many,  and  shall  crush  them  as  eggs  in  his 
hand/'  ^  What  is  stated  by  Paul  in  the  words  quoted  from 
him,  where  he  says,  "  so  that  he  sitteth  in  the  temple  of  God, 
showing  himself  that  he  is  God,""  is  in  Daniel  referred  to 
in  the  following  fashion  :  "  And  on  the  temple  shall  be  the 
abomination  of  desolations,  and  at  the  end  of  the  time  an  end 
shall  be  put  to  the  desolation."  ^  So  many,  out  of  a  greater 
number  of  passages,  have  I  thought  it  right  to  adduce,  that 
the  hearer  may  understand  in  some  slight  degree  the  meaning 
of  Ploly  Scripture,  when  it  gives  us  information  concerning  the 
devil  and  Antichrist;  and  being  satisfied  with  what  we  have 
quoted  for  this  purpose,  let  us  look  at  another  of  the  charges 
of  Celsus,  and  reply  to  it  as  we  best  may. 

Chapter  xlvii. 

Celsus,  after  what  has  been  said,  goes  on  as  follows :  *'  I 
can  tell  how  the  very  thing  occurred,  viz.  that  they  should  call 
him  '  Son  of  God.'  Men  of  ancient  times  termed  this  world, 
as  being  born  of  God,  both  his  child  and  his  son.^  Both  the 
one  and  other  'Son  of  God,'  then,  greatly  resembled  each 
other."  He  is  therefore  of  opinion  that  we  employed  the  ex- 
pression "  Son  of  God,"  having  perverted  ^  what  is  said  of  the 
world,  as  being  born  of  God,  and  being  His  "Son,"  and  "  a  God." 

I  For  he  was  unable  so  to  consider  the  times  of  Moses  and  the 
prophets,  as  to  see  that  the  Jewish  prophets  predicted  generally 
that  there  was  a  "  Son  of  God  "  long  before  the  Greeks  and 
those  men  of  ancient  time  of  whom  Celsus  speaks.  Nay,  he 
would  not  even  quote  the  passage  in  tlie  letters  of  Plato,  to 
which  we  referred  in  the  preceding  pages,  concerning  Him  who 
so  beautifully  arranged  this  world,  as  being  the  Son  of  God ; 
lest  he  too  should  be  compelled  by  Plato,  whom  he  often  men-  1 
tions  with  respect,  to  admit  that  the  architect  of  this  world  is  \  ( 
the  Son  of  God,  and  that  His  Father  is  the  first  God  andSove-    ^ 

1  Cf.  Dan.  viii.  23-25  (LXX.).        ^  Cf.  2  Thcss.  ii.  4.       ^  cf.  Dau.  ix.  27. 


Book  vi.]  OIUGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  389 

reiiin  Kuler  over  all  thincis.  Nor  is  it  at  all  wonderful  if  we 
maintain  that  the  soul  of  Jesus  is  made  one  with  so  great  a  Son 
of  God  through  the  highest  union  with  Plim,  being  no  longer 
in  a  state  of  separation  from  Him.  For  the  sacred  language 
of  Holy  Scripture  knows  of  other  things  also,  which,  although 
"  dual "  in  their  own  nature,  are  considered  to  be,  and  really  are, 
"one  "in  respect  to  one  another.  It  is  said  of  husband  and 
wife,  "  They  are  no  longer  twain,  but  one  flesh  ;  "  ^  and  of  the 
perfect  man,  and  of  him  who  is  joined  to  the  true  Lord,  Word, 
and  Wisdom,  and  Truth,  that  "  he  who  is  joined  to  the  Lord  is 
one  spirit."'  And  if  he  who  "is  joined  to  the  Lord  is  one  spirit," 
who  has  been  joined  to  the  Lord,  the  Very  Word,  and  Wisdom, 
and  Truth,  and  Righteousness,  in  a  more  intimate  union,  or  even 
in  a  manner  at  all  approaching  to  it  than  the  soul  of  Jesus  ? 
And  if  this  be  so,  then  the  soul  of  Jesus  and  God  the  Word — 
the  first-born  of  every  creature — are  no  longer  two,  [but  one]. 

Chapter  xlviii. 

In  the  next  place,  when  the  philosophers  of  the  Porch,  who 

assert  that  the  virtue  of  God  and  man  is  the  same,  maintain 

that  the  God  who  is  over  all  things  is  not  happier  than   tlieir 

I  wise  man,  but   that   the   happiness  of  both  is  equal,   Celsus 

neither  ridicules  nor  scoffs  at.their  opinion.     If,  however,  Holy 

Scripture  says  that  the  perfect  man  is  joined  to  and  made  one 

with  the  Very  Word  by  means  of  virtue,  so  that  we  infer  that 

the  soul  of  Jesus  is  not  separated  from  the  first-born  of  all 

creation,  he  laughs  at  Jesus  being  called  "  Son  of  God,"  not 

observincp  what  is  said  of  Him  with  a  secret  and  mvstical  signi- 

fication  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.     But  that  we  may  win  over  to 

the  reception  of  our  views  those  who  are  willing  to  accept  the 

inferences  which  flow  from  our  doctrines,  and  to  be  benefited 

thereby,  we  say  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  declare  the  body  of 

Christ,  animated  by  the  Son  of  God,  to  be  the  whole  church 

of  God,  and  the  members  of  this  body — considered  as  a  whole 

— to  consist  of  those  who  are  believers ;  since,  as  a  soul  vivifies 

I  and  moves  the  body,  which  of  itself  has  not  the  natural  power 

j  of  motion  like  a  living  being,  so  the  Word,  arousing  and  moving 

I  the  whole  body,  the  church,  to  befitting  action,  awakens,  more- 

i  1  Cf.  Gen.  ii.  24.  ^  cf.  i  Cor.  vL  17. 


390  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

over,  each  individual  member  belonging  to  the  church,  so 
that  they  do  nothing  apart  from  the  Word.  Since  all  this, 
.  then,  follows  by  a  train  of  reasoning  not  to  be  depreciated,  where 
is  the  difficulty  in  maintaining  that,  as  the  soul  of  Jesus  is 
joined  in  a  perfect  and  inconceivable  manner  with  the  very 
Word,  so  the  person  of  Jesus,  generally  speaking,^  is  not  sepa- 
rated from  the  only-begotten  and  first-born  of  all  creation,  and 
is  not  a  different  being  from  Him?  But  enough  here  on  this 
subject. 

Chapter  xlix. 

Let  us  notice  now  what  follows,  where,  expressing  in  a  single 
word  his  opinion  regarding  the  Mosaic  cosmogony,  without 
offering,  however,  a  single  argument  in  its  support,  he  finds 
fault  with  it,  saying:  "Moreover,  their  cosmogony  is  extremely 
silly."  ^  Now,  if  he  had  produced  some  credible  proofs  of  its 
silly  character,  we  should  have  endeavoured  to  answer  them ;  but 
it  does  not  appear  to  me  reasonable  that  I  should  be  called  upon 
to  demonstrate,  in  answer  to  his  mere  assertion,  that  it  is  not 
"  silly."  If  any  one,  however,  wishes  to  see  the  reasons  which 
led  us  to  accept  the  Mosaic  account,  and  the  arguments  by 
which  it  may  be  defended,  he  may  read  what  \\q  have  written 
upon  Genesis,  from  the  beginning  of  the  book  up  to  the  pas- 
sage, "  And  this  is  the  book  of  the  generation  of  men,"^  where 
we  have  tried  to  show  from  the  Holy  Scriptures  themselves 
what  the  ''heaven"  was  which  was  created  in  the  beginning; 
and  what  the  "  earth,"  and  the  "invisible  part  of  the  earth," 
and  that  which  was  "  without  form  ; "  *  and  what  the  "  deep  " 
was,  and  the  "  darkness"  that  was  upon  it;  and  what  the 
"  water  "  was,  and  the  "  Spirit  of  God  "  which  was  "  borne 
over  it ;  "  and  what  the  "  light "  which  was  created,  and  what 
the  "  firmament,"  as  distinct  from  the  "  heaven "  which  was 
created  in  the  beginning ;  and  so  on  with  the  other  subjects 
that  follow.  Celsus  has  also  expressed  his  opinion  that  the 
narrative  of  the  creation  of  man  is  "  exceedingly  silly,"  with- 
out stating  any  proofs,  or  endeavouring  to  answer  our  argu- 
ments ;  for  he  had  no  evidence,  in  my  judgment,  which  was 

^  Cf.  Gen.  V.  1.  *  dy.xruay.siciaTOU. 


Book  VI.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  391 

fitted  to  overthrow  the  statement  that  "  man  has  been  made  in 
the  imaiie  of  God."  ^  He  does  not  even  understand  the  mean- 
ing  of  the  "  Paradise  "  that  was  planted  by  God,  and  of  the 
life  which  man  first  led  in  it ;  and  of  that  which  resulted  from 
accident,'"^  when  man  was  cast  forth  on  account  of  his  sin,  and 
was  settled  opposite  the  Paradise  of  delight.  Now,  as  he  asserts 
that  these  are  silly  statements,  let  him  turn  his  attention  not 
merely  to  each  one  of  them  [in  general],  but  to  this  in  parti- 
cular, "  He  placed  the  cherubim,  and  the  flaming  sword,  which 
turned  every  way,  to  keep  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life,"  ^  and 
say  whether  Moses  wrote  these  words  with  no  serious  object  in 
view,  but  in  the  spirit  of  the  writers  of  the  old  Comedy,  who 
have  sportively  related  that  "  Proetus  slew  Bellerophon,"  and 
that  "  Pegasus  came  from  Arcadia."  Now  their  object  was 
to  create  laughter  in  composing  such  stories  ;  whereas  it  is  in- 
credible that  he  who  left  behind  him  laws  *  for  a  whole  nation, 
regarding  which  he  wished  to  persuade  his  subjects  that  they 
were  given  by  God,  should  have  written  words  so  little  to  the 
purpose,^  and  have  said  without  any  meaning,  "  He  placed  the 
cherubim,  and  the  flaming  sword,  which  turned  every  way,  to 
keep  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life,"  or  made  any  other  state- 
ment regarding  the  creation  of  man,  which  is  the  subject  of 
philosophic  investigation  by  the  Hebrew  sages. 

Chapter  l. 

In  the  next  place,  Celsus,  after  heaping  together,  simply  as 
mere  assertions,  the  varying  opinions  of  some  of  the  ancients 
regarding  the  world,  and  the  origin  of  man,  alleges  that  "  Moses 
and  the  prophets,  who  have  left  to  us  our  books,  not  knowing 
at  all  what  the  nature  of  the  world  is,  and  of  man,  have  woven 
together  a  web  of  sheer  nonsense."  ®  If  he  had  shown,  now, 
how  it  appeared  to  him  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  contained 
"  sheer  nonsense,"  we  should  have  tried  to  demolish  the  argu- 
ments which  appeared  to  him  to  establish  their  nonsensical 
character ;  but  on  the  present  occasion,  following  his  own  ex- 
ample, we  also  sportively  give  it  as  our  opinion  that  Celsus, 

^  Cf.  Gen.  i.  26.  2  ^,^y  |^  vipiaruaiu;  yevofiivYiv. 

^  Gen.  iii.  24.  *  ygeicp»i. 

*  ccxpoaAoyx.  ^  avuhiycii  Av;pov  fixdvv. 


392  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

knowing  nothing  at  all  about  the  nature  of  the  meaning  and 
language  of  the  prophets/  composed  a  work  which  contained 
"  sheer  nonsense,"  and  boastfully  gave  it  the  title  of  a  "  true 
discourse."  And  since  he  makes  the  statements  about  the  "  days 
of  creation  "  ground  of  accusation, — as  if  he  understood  them 
clearly  and  correctly,  some  of  which  elapsed  before  the  creation 
of  light  and  heaven,  and  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars,  and  some 
of  them  after  the  creation  of  these, — we  shall  only  make  this 
observation,  that  Moses  must  then  have  forgotten  that  he  had 
said  a  little  before,  "  that  in  six  days  the  creation  of  the  world 
had  been  finished,"  and  that  in  consequence  of  this  act  of  for- 
getf ulness  he  subjoins  to  these  words  the  following :  "  This  is 
the  book  of  the  creation  of  man,  in  the  day  when  God  made 
the  heaven  and  the  earth  !  "  But  it  is  not  in  the  least  credible, 
that  after  what  he  had  said  respecting  the  six  days,  Moses 
should  immediately  add,  without  a  special  meaning,  the  words, 
"in  the  day  that  God  made  the  heavens  and  the  earth  ;"  and 
if  any  one  thinks  that  these  words  may  be  referred  to  the  state- 
ment, "  In  the  beginning,  God  made  the  heaven  and  the  earth," 
let  him  observe  that  before  the  words,  "  Let  there  be  light,  and 
there  was  light,"  and  these,  "  God  called  the  light  day,"  it  has 
been  stated  that  "  in  the  befj-innincr  God  made  the  heaven  and 
the  earth." 

Chapter  li. 

On  the  present  occasion,  however,  it  is  not  our  object  to 
enter  into  an  explanation  of  the  subject  of  intelligent  and 
sensible  beings,^  nor  of  the  manner  in  which  the  different  kinds^ 
of  days  were  allotted  to  both  sorts,  nor  to  investigate  the  details 
which  belong  to  the  subject,  for  we  should  need  whole  treatises 
for  the  exposition  of  the  Mosaic  cosmogony  ;  and  that  work  we 
had  already  performed,  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  a  consider- 
able time  before  the  commencement  of  this  answer  to  Celsus, 
when  we  discussed  with  such  measure  of  capacity  as  we  then 
possessed  the  question  of  the  Mosaic  cosmogony  of  the  six 
days.  We  must  keep  in  mind,  however,  that  the  AVord  pro- 
mises to  the  righteous  through  the  mouth  of  Isaiah,  that  days 

^  OT/  r/f  TTork  kariv  vj  (pvai;  iw  vov,  x,xl  7011  Iv  rdi;  ■Trpo'J^ijTxig  Ti&'yov. 
^  "^ipl  vomuv  Ksil  ocladr,TUU.  ^  eci  (pvaa;  tuV  i^fAipuv. 


Boojvvi.]    ,         OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  393 

\\'\\\  come  ^  when  not  the  sun,  but  the  Lord  Himself,  will  be  to 
them  an  everlasting  light,  and  God  will  be  their  glory ."'^  And 
it  is  from  misunderstanding,  I  think,  some  pestilent  heresy 
which  gave  an  erroneous  interpretation  to  the  words,  "  Let  there 
be  light,"  as  if  they  were  the  expression  of  a  loisli""  merely  on 
the  part  of  the  Creator,  that  Celsus  made  the  remark:  "The 
Creator  did  not  borrow  light  from  above,  like  those  persons 
who  kindle  their  lamps  at  those  of  their  neighbours."  Mis- 
understanding, moreover,  another  impious  hei'esy,  he  has  said  : 
*'  If,  indeed,  there  did  exist  an  accursed  god  opposed  to  the  great 
God,  who  did  this  contrary  to  his  approval,  why  did  he  lend 
him  the  light  ?  "  So  far  are  we  from  offering  a  defence  of 
such  puerilities,  that  we  desire,  on  the  contrary,  distinctly  to 
arraign  the  statements  of  these  heretics  as  erroneous,  and  to 
undertake  to  refute,  not  those  of  their  opinions  with  which  we 
are  unacquainted j  as  Celsus  does,  but  those  of  which  we  have 
attained  an  accurate  knowledge,  derived  in  part  from  the  state- 
ments of  their  own  adherents,  and  partly  from  a  careful  perusal 
of  their  writings. 

Chapter  lii. 

Celsus  proceeds  as  follows  :  "  With  regard  to  the  origin  of 
the  world  and  its  destruction,  whether  it  is  to  be  regarded  as 
uncreated  and  indestructible,  or  as  created  indeed,  but  not  de- 
structible, or  the  reverse,  I  at  present  say  nothing."  For  this 
reason  we  too  say  nothing  on  these  points,  as  the  work  in  hand 
does  not  require  it.  Nor  do  we  allege  that  the  Spirit  of  the 
universal  God  mingled  itself  in  things  here  below  as  in  things 
alien  to  itself,*  as  might  appear  from  the  expression,  "  The 
Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  water  ; "  nor  do  we  assert  that 
certain  wicked  devices  directed  against  His  Spirit,  as  if  by  a 
different  creator  from  the  great  God,  and  which  were  tolerated 
by  the  Supreme  Divinity,  needed  to  be  completely  frustrated. 
And,  accordingly,  I  have  nothing  further  to  say  to  those  ^  who 
utter  such  absurdities ;  nor  to  Celsus,  who  does  not  refute  them 
with  ability.  For  he  ought  either  not  to  have  mentioned  such 
matters    at    all,  or  else,  in  keeping  with  that  character   for 

^  iu  jcxTUaTKait  'iaiadxt  Tifcipoi;.  -  Cf.  Isa.  Ix.  19.         ^  svktiku:. 

*  ug  iv  x'h'Korplotg  rots  rfioi.  ^  fCdKpxv  •/,ctipiru<jxv. 


394  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

philanthropy  which  he  assumes,  have  carefully  set  them  forth, 
and  then  endeavoured  to  rebut  these  impious  assertions.  Nor 
have  we  ever  heard  that  the  great  God,  after  giving  his  spirit 
to  the  creator,  demands  it  back  again.  Proceeding  next  fool- 
ishly to  assail  these  impious  assertions,  he  asks :  "  What  god 
gives  anything  with  the  intention  of  demanding  it  back  ?  For 
it  is  the  mark  of  a  needy  person  to  demand  back  [what  he  has 
given],  whereas  God  stands  in  need  of  nothing."  To  this  he 
adds,  as  if  saying  something  clever  against  certain  parties  : 
"  Why,  when  he  lent  [his  spirit],  was  he  ignorant  that  he  was 
lending  it  to  an  evil  being  ?  "  He  asks,  further  :  "  Why  does 
he  pass  without  notice  ^  a  wicked  creator  who  was  counter- 
working his  purposes  ?  " 

Chapter  liit. 

In  the  next  place,  mixing  up  together  various  heresies,  and 
not  observing  that  some  statements  are  the  utterances  of  one 
heretical  sect,  and  others  of  a  different  one,  he  brings  forward 
the  objections  which  we  raised  against  Marcion.^  And,  pro- 
bably, having  heard  them  from  some  paltry  and  ignorant 
individuals,  ^  he  assails  the  very  arguments  which  combat 
them,  but  not  in  a  way  that  shows  much  intelligence.  Quot- 
ing then  our  arguments  against  Marcion,  and  not  observing 
that  it  is  against  Marcion  that  he  is  speaking,  he  asks  :  "  Why 
does  he  send  secretly,  and  destroy  the  works  which  he  has 
created  ?  Why  does  he  secretly  employ  force,  and  persuasion, 
and  deceit  ?  Why  does  he  allure  those  who,  as  ye  assert, 
have  been  condemned  or  accused  by  him,  and  carry  them 
away  like  a  slave-dealer  ?  Why  does  he  teach  them  to  steal 
away  from  their  Lord  ?  Why  to  fiee  from  their  father  ?  Why 
does  he  claim  them  for  himself  against  the  father's  will? 
Why  does  he  profess  to  be  the  father  of  strange  children  ?  " 
To  these  questions  he  subjoins  the  following  remark,  as  if  by 
way  of  expressing  his  surprise :  *  "  Venerable,  indeed,  is  the 


^  rrspioox.  ~  Cf.  Book  V.  C.  54. 

2  The  textual  reading  is,  d-o  nvuv  svtO.Z;  x«(  IoiuzikZ:,  for  which  Ruseus 
reads,  d-Tro  ti-juv  il-zi\Z)v  x,xi  iOiUTix.uv,  ■which  emendation  has  been  adopted 
in  the  translation. 


BooKvr.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  395 

god  who  desires  to  be  the  father  of  those  sinners  who  are  con- 
demned by  another  [god],  and  of  the  needy/  and,  as  them- 
selves say,  of  the  very  offscourings"  [of  men],  and  who  is 
unable  to  capture  and  punish  his  messenger,  who  escaped 
from  him  !  "  After  this,  as  if  addressing  us  Avho  acknowledge 
that  this  world  is  not  the  work  of  a  different  and  strange  god, 
he  continues  in  the  following  strain  :  "  If  these  are  his  works, 
how  is  it  that  God  created  evil  1  And  how  is  it  that  he  can- 
not persuade  and  admonish  [men]  ?  And  how  is  it  that  he 
repents  on  account  of  the  ingratitude  and  wickedness  of  men "? 
He  finds  fault,  moreover,  with  his  own  handwork,^  and  hates, 
and  threatens,  and  destroys  his  own  offspring?  Whither  can 
he  transport  them  out  of  this  world,  which  he  himself  has 
made  ?  "  Now  it  does  not  appear  to  me  that  by  these  remarks 
he  makes  clear  what  "  evil "  is  ;  and  although  there  have  been 
among  the  Greeks  many  sects  who  differ  as  to  the  nature  of 
good  and  evil,  he  hastily  concludes,  as  if  it  were  a  consequence 
of  our  maintaining  that  this  world  also  is  a  work  of  the  uni- 
versal God,  that  in  our  judgment  God  is  the  author  of  evil. 
Let  it  be,  however,  regarding  evil  as  it  may — whether  created 
by  God  or  not — it  nevertheless  follows  only  as  a  result  when 
you  compare  the  principal  design.^  And  I  am  greatly  surprised 
if  the  inference  regarding  God's  authorship  of  evil,  which  he 
thinks  follows  from  our  maintaining  that  this  world  also  is  the 
work  of  the  universal  God,  does  not  follow  too  from  his  oivn 
statements.  For  one  might  say  to  Celsus  :  "  If  these  are  His 
works,  how  is  it  that  God  created  evil  %  and  how  is  it  that 
He  cannot  persuade  and  admonish  men  ?  "  It  is  indeed  the 
greatest  error  in  reasoning  to  accuse  those  who  are  of  different 
opinions  of  holding  unsound  doctrines,  when  the  accuser  him- 
self is  much  more  liable  to  the  same  charge  with  regard  to  his 
own. 

Chapter  liv. 

Let  us  see,  then,  briefly  what  Holy  Scripture  has  to  say  re- 
garding good  and  evil,  and  wdiat  answer  we  are  to  return  to  the 
questions,  "  How  is  it  that  God  created  evil?"  and,  "How 


396  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

is  He  incapable  of  persuading  and  admonishing  men  ?  "  Now, 
according  to  Holy  Scripture,  properly  speaking,  virtues  and 
virtuous  actions  are  good,  as,  properly  speaking,  the  reverse  of 
these  are  evil.  We  shall  be  satisfied  with  quoting  on  the  pre- 
sent occasion  some  verses  from  the  34th  Psalm,  to  the  following 
effect :  "  They  that  seek  the  Lord  shall  not  want  any  good 
thing.  Come,  ye  children,  hearken  unto  me ;  I  will  teach  you 
the  fear  of  the  Lord.  What  man  is  he  that  desireth  life,  and 
loveth  many  days,  that  he  may  see  good  ?  Keep  thy  tongue 
from  evil,  and  thy  lips  from  speaking  guile.  Depart  from  evil, 
and  do  good."  ^  Now,  the  injunctions  to  "  depart  from  evil,  and 
to  do  good,"  do  not  refer  either  to  corporeal  evils  or  corporeal 
blessings,  as  they  are  termed  by  some,  nor  to  external  things  at 
all,  but  to  blessings  and  evils  of  a  spiritual  kind ;  since  he  who 
departs  from  such  evils,  and  performs  such  virtuous  actions, 
will,  as  one  who  desires  the  true  life,  come  to  the  enjoyment 
of  it ;  and  as  one  loving  to  see  "  good  days,"  in  which  the  word 
of  righteousness  will  be  the  Sun,  he  will  see  them,  God  taking 
him  away  from  this  "  present  evil  world," "  and  from  those  evil 
days  concerning  which  Paul  said :  "  Redeeming  the  time,  be- 
cause the  days  are  evil."  ^ 

Chapter  lv. 

Passages,  indeed,  might  be  found  where  corporeal  and  exter- 
nal [benefits]  are  improperly*  called  "good," — those  things,  viz., 
which  contribute  to  the  natural  life,  while  those  which  do  the 
reverse  are  termed  "  evil."  It  is  in  this  sense  that  Job  says 
to  his  wife :  "  If  we  have  received  good  at  the  hand  of  the 
Lord,  shall  we  not  also  receive  evil?" ^  Since,  then,  there  is 
found  in  the  sacred  Scriptures,  in  a  certain  passage,  this  state- 
ment put  into  the  mouth  of  God,  "  I  make  peace,  and  create 
evil  ;"'^  and  again  another,  where  it  is  said  of  Him  that  "  evil 
came  down  from  the  Lord  to  the  gate  of  Jerusalem,  the  noise 
of  chariots  and  horsemen,"^ — passages  which  have  disturbed 
many  readers  of  Scripture,  who  are  unable  to  see  what  Scrip- 

'^  Cf.  Ps.  xxxiv.  10-14.  -  Cf.  Gal.  i.  4.  =  cf.  Eph.  v.  16. 

^  Kx-ocxpmTiKUTipou.  ^  Cf.  Job  ii.  10.  *'  Cf.  Isa.  x\v.  7. 

^  Cf.  Mic.  i.  12,  13.  The  rendering  of  the  Heb.  in  the  first  clause  of 
the  thirteenth  verse  is  different  from  that  of  the  LXX. 


BooEvi.]  OrJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  307 

ture  means  by  "good"  and  "evil," — it  is  probable  that  Celsus, 
being  perplexed  thereby,  gave  utterance  to  the  question,  "  How 
is  it  that  God  created  evil?"  or,  perhaps,  having  heard  some  one 
discussinir  the  matters  relating  to  it  in  an  icrnorant  manner,  he 
made  this  statement  which  we  have  noticed.  We,  on  the  other 
hand,  maintain  that  "  evil,"  or  "  wickedness,"  and  the  actions 
which  proceed  from  it,  were  not  created  by  God.  For  if  God 
created  that  wliich  is  really  evil,  how  was  it  possible  that  the  pro- 
clamation regarding  [the  last]  judgment  should  be  confidently 
announced,^  which  informs  us  that  the  wicked  are  to  be  punished 
for  their  evil  deeds  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  their  Avicked- 
uess,  while  those  who  have  lived  a  virtuous  life,  or  performed 
virtuous  actions,  will  be  in  the  enjoyment  of  blessedness,  and 
I  will  receive  rewards  from  God  ?  I  am  well  aware  that  those 
who  would  daringly  assert  that  these  evils  were  created  by  God 
will  quote  certain  expressions  of  Scripture  [in  their  support], 
because  we  are  not  able  to  show  one  consistent  series^  of  pas- 
sages ;  for  although  Scripture  [generally]  blames  the  wicked 
and  approves  of  the  righteous,  it  nevertheless  contains  some 
statements  which,  although  comparatively^  few  in  number, 
seem  to  disturb  the  minds  of  ignorant  readers  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture. I  have  not,  however,  deemed  it  appropriate  to  my  present 
treatise  to  quote  on  the  present  occasion  those  discordant  state- 
ments, which  are  many  in  number,^  and  their  explanations,  which 
would  require  a  long  arrray  of  proofs.  Evils,  then,  if  those  be 
meant  which  are  jproperly  so  called,  were  not  created  by  God ; 
but  some,  although  feio  in  comparison  with  the  order  of  the 
xchole  world,  have  resulted  from  His  principal  works,  as  there 
follow  from  the  chief  works  of  the  carpenter  such  things  as  spiral 
shavings  and  sawdust,^  or  as  architects  might  appear  to  be  the 
cause  of  the  rubbish  ^  which  lies  around  their  buildings  in  the 
form  of  the  filth  which  drops  from  the  stones  and  the  plaster. 

3  oXiyu  must  be  taken  comparativehj,  on  account  of  the  •^oXXa,-  that  fol- 
lows afterwards. 

•*  TToXAaj.    See  note  3.  ^  t«  khiKO-iovj  ^iafiurix,  kxI  'rrplfjy.uTx. 

^  rx  z'xpxxii/^iyx. 


398  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 


Chapter  lvi. 

If  we  speak,  however,  of  what  are  called  "  corporeal "  and 
"external"  evils, — which  are  improperly  so  termed, — then  it 
may  be  granted  that  there  are  occasions  when  some  of  these 
have  been  called  into  existence  by  God,  in  order  that  by  their 
means  the  conversion  of  certain  individuals  might  be  effected. 
Aijd  what  absurdity  would  follow  from  such  a  course  ?  For  as, 
if  we  should  hear  those  sufferings  ^  improperly  termed  ''  evils  " 
which  are  inflicted  by  fathers,  and  instructors,  and  pedagogues 
upon  those  who  are  under  their  care,  or  upon  patients  who  are 
operated  upon  or  cauterized  by  the  surgeons  in  order  to  effect 
a  cure,  we  were  to  say  that  a  father  was  ill-treating  his  son, 
or  pedagogues  and  instructors  their  pupils,  or  physicians  their 
patients,  no  blame  would  be  laid  upon  the  operators  or  chas- 
tlsers ;  so,  in  the  same  way,  if  God  is  said  to  bring  upon  men 
such  evils  for  the  conversion  and  cure  of  those  who  need  this 
discipline,  there  would  be  no  absurdity  in  the  view,  nor  would 
"  evils  come  down  from  the  Lord  upon  the  gates  of  Jerusalem,"^ 
— which  evils  consist  of  the  punishments  inflicted  upon  the 
Israelites  by  their  enemies  with  a  view  to  their  conversion ;  nor 
would  one  visit  "  with  a  rod  the  transgressions  of  those  who  for- 
sake the  law  of  the  Lord,  and  their  iniquities  with  stripes  ; "  ^ 
nor  could  it  be  said,  "  Thou  hast  coals  of  fire  to  set  upon  them; 
they  shall  be  to  thee  a  help."  ^  In  the  same  v/ay  also  we  explain 
the  expressions,  ''  I,  who  make  peace,  and  create  evil ; "  ^  for 
He  calls  into  existence  "  corporeal"  or  "external"  evils,  while 
purifying  and  training  those  who  would  not  be  disciplined  by 
the  word  and  sound  doctrine.  This,  then,  is  our  answer  to  the 
question,  "  How  is  it  that  God  ci'euted  evil?  " 

Chapter  lvii. 

With  respect  to  the  question,  "  How  is  he  incapable  of  per- 
suading and  admonishing  men?"  it  has  been  already  stated  that, 
if  such  an  objection  were  really  a  ground  of  charge,  then  the 
objection  of  Celsus  might  be  brought  against  those  who  accept 
the  doctrine  of  providence.     Any  one  might  answer  the  charge 

1  xovoi^f.  -  Cf.  Mic.  i.  12.  2  Cf.  Ps.  Ixxxix.  32. 

*  Cf.  Isa.  xlvii.  14,  15.  *  Cf.  Isa.  xlv.  7. 


Booicvi.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  399 

that  God  is  incapable  of  admonishing  men  ;  for  He  conveys  His 
admonitions  throughout  the  whole  of  Scripture,  and  by  means 
of  those  persons  who,  through  God's  gracious  appointment,  are 
the  instructors  of  His  hearers.  Unless,  indeed,  some  peculiar 
meaning  be  understood  to  attach  to  the  word  "  admonish,"  as 
if  it  signified  both  to  penetrate  into  the  mind  of  the  person 
admonished,  and  to  make  him  hear  the  words  of  his  ^  instruc- 
tor, which  is  contrary  to  the  usual  meaning  of  the  word.  To 
the  objection,  "  How  is  he  incapable  of  persuading?" — which 
also  might  be  brought  against  all  who  believe  in  providence, — 
we  have  to  make  the  following  remarks.  Since  the  expression 
"  to  be  persuaded  "  belongs  to  those  words  which  are  termed, 
so  to  speak,  "  reciprocal " "  (compare  the  phrase  *•'  to  shave  a 
man,"  when  he  makes  an  effort  to  submit  himself  to  the  barber  '), 
there  is  for  this  reason  needed  not  merely  the  effort  of  him 
who  persuades,  but  also  the  submission,  so  to  speak,  which  is 
to  be  yielded  to  the  persuader,  or  the  acceptance  of  what  is 
said  by  him.  And  therefore  it  must  not  be  said  that  it  is 
because  God  is  incapable  of  persuading  men  that  they  are  not 
persuaded,  but  because  they  will  not  accept  the  faithful  words 
of  God.  And  if  one  were  to  apply  this  expression  to  men  who 
are  the  "artificers  of  persuasion,"^  he  would  not  be  wrong;  for 
it  is  possible  for  a  man  who  has  thoroughly  learned  the  prin- 
ciples of  rhetoric,  and  who  employs  them  properly,  to  do  his 
utmost  to  persuade,  and  yet  appear  to  fail,  because  he  cannot 
overcome  the  will  of  him  who  ought  to  yield  to  his  persuasive 
arts.  Moreover,  that  persuasion  does  not  come  from  God, 
although  persuasive  words  may  be  uttered  by  him,  is  distinctly 
taught  by  Paul,  when  he  says :  "  This  persuasion  cometh  not 
of  him  that  calleth  you."  ^  Such  also  is  the  view  indicated  by 
these  words :  "  If  ye  be  willing  and  obedient,  ye  shall  eat  the 
good  of  the  land ;  but  if  ye  refuse  and  rebel,  a  sword  shall  de- 
vour you."^  For  that  one  may  [really]  desire  what  is  addressed 
to  him  by  one  who  admonishes,  and  may  become  deserving  of 

^  TO  x,xi   iTTirvyxfi^'Jirj  lu  ru  vovdirovfcivii  xxl  dx.oi>siv  tcj  tou  oiOx</y,ovTo; 
hoyov. 

"  uaTTBpel  tojV  x.ct'Kovf/.i'JUv  ciuriTrswovdoruy  sartv. 

^  dvxT^^oyo'j  TM  y,sipsadsci  oLvdpwaov,  lysoyouvzoi  ro  'rrccps^c-''-'  ixvrov  lu  KslpovTi. 

4  ^w^oii;  o-^,^iovpy6,v.  *  Cf.  Gal.  v.  8.  «  Cf.  Isa.  i.  19,  20. 


400  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

those  promises  of  God  which  he  hears,  it  is  necessaiy  to  secure 
the  will  of  the  hearer,  and  his  inclination  to  what  is  addressed 
to  him.  And  therefore  it  appears  to  me,  that  in  the  book  of 
Deuteronomy  the  following  words  are  uttered  with  peculiar 
emphasis  :  "  And  now,  O  Israel,  what  doth  the  Lord  thy  God 
require  of  thee,  but  to  fear  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  to  walk  in 
all  His  w'ays,  and  to  love  Him,  and  to  keep  His  command- 
ments r'^ 

Chapter  lviii. 

There  is  next  to  be  answered  the  following  query :  "  And 
how  is  it  that  he  repents  when  men  become  ungrateful  and 
wicked;  and  finds  fault  with  his  own  handwork,    and  hates, 
and  threatens,  and  destroys  his  own  offspring?"     Now  Celsus 
here  calumniates  and  falsifies  what  is  written  in  the  book  of 
Genesis  to  the  following  effect :  "  And  the  Lord  God,  seeing 
that  the  wickedness  of  men  upon  the  earth  was  increasing, 
and  that  every  one  in  his  heart  carefully  meditated  to  do  evil 
continually,  was  grieved "  He  had  made  man  upon  the  earth. 
And  God  meditated  in  His  heart,  and  said,  I  will  destroy  man, 
whom  I  have  made,  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  both  man 
and  beast,  and  creeping  thing,  and  fowl  of  the  air,  because  I 
am  grieved  ^  that  I  made  them ; "  *  quoting  words  which  are  >^ 
not  written  in  Scripture,  as  if  they  conveyed  the  meaning  of 
what  was  actually  written.     For  there  is  no  mention  in  these 
words  of  the  repentance  of  God,  nor  of  His  blaming  and  hating 
His  own  handwork.     And  if  there  is  the  appearance  of  God    / 
threatening  the  catastrophe  of  the  deluge,  and  thus  destroying   1 
His  own  children  in  it,  we  have  to  answer  that,  as  the  soul  of     | 
man  is  immortal,  the  supposed  threatening  has  for  its  object     v 
the  conversion  of  the  hearers,  while  the  destruction  of  men  by 
the  flood  is  a  purification  of  the  earth,  as  certain  among  the 
Greek  philosophers  of  no  mean  repute  have  indicated  by  the 
expression  :  "  When  the  gods  purify  the  earth."  ^     And  with 

1  Cf.  Dcut.  X.  12,  13. 

-  ivs&vy.Yt6-fi^  in  all  probability  a  corruption  for  iSv/yJjd-/i,  wbicli  Hoescbcl 
places  in  the  text,  and  Spencer  in  tbe  margin  of  bis  ed. :  Heb.  Dn3>1. 

*  'ivBdvf4.7}dyiv.    Cf.  remark  in  note  2. 

*  Cf.  Gen.  vi.  5,  6.  ^  Cf.  Plato  in  Timxo. 


Book  VI.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  401 

respect  to  the  transference  to  God  of  those  anthropopathic 
phrases,  some  remarks  have  been  ah'eady  made  by  us  in  the 
preceding  pages. 

Chapter  lix. 

Celsus,  in  the  next  place,  suspecting,  or  perhaps  seeing 
clearly  enough,  the  answer  which  might  be  returned  by  those 
who  defend  the  destruction  of  men  by  the  deluge,  continues : 
"  But  if  he  does  not  destroy  his  own  offspring,  whither  does 
he  convey  them  out  of  this  world  ^  which  he  himself  created  ? " 
To  this  we  reply,  that  God  by  no  means  removes  out  of  the 
whole  world,  consisting  of  heaven  and  earth,  those  who  suffered 
death  by  the  deluge,  but  removes  them  from  a  life  in  the  flesh, 
and,  having  set  them  free  from  their  bodies,  liberates  them  at 
the  same  time  from  an  existence  upon  earth,  which  in  many 
parts  of  Scripture  it  is  usual  to  call  the  "  world."  In  the 
Gospel  according  to  John  especially,  we  may  frequently  find 
the  regions  of  earth  -  termed  ''  world,"  as  in  the  passage,  "  He 
was  the  true  light,  which  lighteneth  every  man  that  cometh 
into  the  '  world ;"'^  as  also  in  this,  "In  the  world  ye  shall 
have  tribulation  ;  but  be  of  good  cheer,  I  have  overcome  the 
world.'"*  If,  then,  we  understand  by  "removing  out  of  the 
world"  a  transference  from  "  regions  on  earth,"  there  is  nothing 
absurd  in  the  expression.  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  system  of 
things  which  consists  of  heaven  and  earth  be  termed  "  world," 
then  those  who  perished  in  the  deluge  are  by  no  means  removed 
out  of  the  so-called  "world."  And  yet,  indeed,  if  we  have  regard 
to  the  words,  '■•  Looking  not  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but 
at  the  things  which  are  not  seen ; " ''  and  also  to  these,  "  For 
the  invisible  thines  of  Him  from  the  creation  of  the  world  are 
clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the  things  that  are  made,"  — 
we  might  say  that  he  who  dwells  amid  the  "  invisible  "  things, 
and  what  are  called  generally  "  things  not  seen,"  is  gone  out 
of  the  world,  the  Word  having  removed  him  hence,  and  trans- 
ported him  to  the  heavenly  regions,  in  order  to  behold  all 
beautiful  things. 

3  Cf.  John  i.  9.  "  Cf.  John  svi.  33. 

^  Cf.  2  Cor.  iv.  18.  «  Cf.  Rom.  i.  20. 

ORIG. — VOL.  II.  2  C 


402  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

Chapter  lx. 

But  after  this  investigation  of  liis  assertions,  as  if  his  object 
were  to  swell  his  book  by  many  words,  he  repeats,  in  different 
language,  the  same  charges  which  we  have  examined  a  little 
ago,  saying :  "  By  far  the  most  silly  thing  is  the  distribution  of 
the  creation  of  the  world  over  certain  days,  before  days  existed : 
for,  as  the  heaven  was  not  yet  created,  nor  the  foundation  of 
the  earth  yet  laid,^  nor  the  sun  yet  revolving,"  how  could  there 
be  daysV^  Now,  what  difference  is  there  between  these  words 
and  the  following :  "  Moreover,  taking  and  looking  at  these 
things  from  the  beginning,  would  it  not  be  absurd  in  the  first 
and  greatest  God  to  issue  the  command,  Let  this  [first  thing] 
come  into  existence,  and  this  second  thing,  and  this  [third] ; 
and  after  accomplishing  so  much  on  the  first  day,  to  do  so  much 
more  again  on  the  second,  and  third,  and  fourth,  and  fifth,  and 
sixth  ?  "  We  answered  to  the  best  of  our  ability  this  objection 
to  God's  "  commanding  this  first,  second,  and  third  thing  to  be 
created,"  when  we  quoted  the  words,  "  He  said,  and  it  was 
done ;  He  commanded,  and  all  things  stood  fast ; "  ^  remarking 
that  the  immediate*  Creator,  and,  as  it  were,  very  Maker ^  of 
the  world  was  the  "Word,  the  Son  of  God ;  while  the  Father 
of  the  Word,  by  commanding  His  own  Son — the  Word — to 
create  the  world,  is  primarily  Creator.  And  with  regard  to 
the  creation  of  the  light  upon  the  first  day,  and  of  the  firma- 
ment upon  the  second,  and  of  the  gathering  together  of  the 
waters  that  are  under  the  heaven  into  their  several  reservoirs  *^ 
on  the  third  (the  earth  thus  causing  to  sprout  forth  those 
[fruits]  which  are  under  the  control  of  nature  alone^),  and  of 
the  [great]  lights  and  stars  upon  the  fourth,  and  of  aquatic  * 
animals  upon  the  fifth,  and  of  land  animals  and  man  upon  the 
sixth,  we  have  treated  to  the  best  of  our  ability  in  our  notes 
upon  Genesis,  as  well  as  in  the  foregoing  pages,  when  we  found 
fault  with  those  who,  taking  the  words  in  their  apparent  signi- 
fication, said  that  the  time  of  six  days  was  occupied  in  the 
creation  of  the  world,  and  quoted  the  words  :  "  These  are  the 

^  ipyipnaf^ivn;.  ^  rrili  (pipoftsvov.       *  Cf.  Ps.  xxxiii.  9. 

*  Tov  "Trpooiy^ug  l/ifciovpyov.  ^  uvrovpyov.  ^  avvw/uyd;. 


Book  vi.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  403 

generations  of  the  heavens  and  of  the  earth  when  they  were 
created,  in  the  day  that  the  Lord  God  made  the  earth  and  the 
heavens."  ^ 

Chapter  lxi. 

Again,  not  understanding  the  meaning  of  the  words,  "  And 
God  ended  on  the  sixth  day  His  works  which  He  had  made, 
and  ceased  ^  on  the  seventh  day  from  all  His  works  which  He 
had  made  :  and  God  blessed  the  seventh  day,  and  hallowed  it, 
because  on  it  He  had  ceased'^  from  all  His  works  which  He 
had  begun  to  make;"^  and  imagining  the  expression,  "He 
ceased  on  the  seventh  day,"  to  be  the  same  as  this,  "  He  rested'^ 
on  the  seventh  day,"  he  makes  the  remark :  "  After  this, 
indeed,  he  is  weary,  like  a  very  bad  workman,  who  stands  in 
need  of  rest  to  refresh  himself ! "  For  he  knows  nothing  of 
the  day  of  the  Sabbath  and  rest  of  God,  which  follows  the 
completion  of  the  world's  creation,  and  which  lasts  during  the 
duration  of  the  world,  and  in  which  all  those  will  keep  festival 
with  God  who  have  done  all  tlieir  works  in  their  six  days,  and 
who,  because  they  have  omitted  none  of  their  duties,^  will 
ascend  to  the  contemplation  [of  celestial  things],  and  to  the 
assembly  of  righteous  and  blessed  beings.  In  the  next  place, 
as  if  either  the  Scriptures  made  such  a  statement,  or  as  if  we 
ourselves  so  spoke  of  God  as  having  rested  from  fatigue,  he 
continues:  "It  is  not  in  keeping  with  the  fitness  of  things^ 
that  the  first  God  should  feel  fatigue,  or  work  with  His  hands,^ 
or  give  forth  commands."  Celsus  says,  that  "  it  is  not  in  keep- 
ing with  the  fitness  of  things  that  the  first  God  should  feel 
fatigue."  Now  we  would  say  that  neither  does  God  the  Word 
feel  fatigue,  nor  any  of  those  beings  who  belong  to  a  better 
and  diviner  order  of  things,  because  the  sensation  of  fatigue  is 
peculiar  to  those  who  are  in  the  body.  You  can  examine 
whether  this  is  true  of  those  who  possess  a  body  of  any  kind,  or 
of  those  who  have  an  eartldy  body,  or  one  a  little  better  than 
this.  But  "  neither  is  it  consistent  with  the  fitness  of  things  that 
the  first  God  should  work  with  His  own  hands."    If  you  under- 

1  Cf.  Gen.  ii.  4.  -  Kurkvcivciv.  ^  Cf.  Gen.  ii.  2,  3. 

*  uutTreivaUTO.  ^  tuv  STirtlia.'h'KovTUV,  ^  ov  6i^t{. 

'  Xitpovpyilu. 


404  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

stand  the  words  "work  with  His  own  hands"  literally,  then 
neither  are  they  applicable  to  the  second  God,  nor  to  any  other 
being  partaking  of  divinity.  But  suppose  that  they  are  spoken 
in  an  improper  and  figurative  sense,  so  that  we  may  translate  the 
following  expressions,  "  And  the  firmament  showeth  forth  His 
handywork,"  ^  and  "  the  heavens  are  the  work  of  Thy  hands,"  ^ 
and  any  other  similar  phrases,  in  a  figurative  manner,  so  far  as 
respects  the  "  hands  "  and  "  limbs  "  of  Deity,  where  is  the  absur- 
dit}'  in  the  words,  "  God  thus  working  with  His  own  hands?" 
And  as  there  is  no  absurdity  in  God  thus  working,  so  neither  is 
there  in  His  issuing  "  commands;"  so  that  what  is  done  at  His 
bidding  should  be  beautiful  and  praiseworthy,  because  it  was 
God  who  commanded  it  to  be  performed. 

Chapter  lxii. 

Celsus,  again,  having  perhaps  misunderstood  the  words,  "  For 
the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it,"'^  or  perhaps  because 
some  ignorant  individuals  had  rashly  ventured  upon  the  ex- 
planation of  such  things,  and  not  understanding,  moreover,  on 
what  principles  parts  called  after  the  names  of  the  bodily 
members  are  assigned  to  the  attributes*  of  God,  asserts  :  "  He 
has  neither  mouth  nor  voice."  Truly,  indeed,  God  can  have  no 
voice,  if  the  voice  is  a  concussion  of  the  air,  or  a  stroke  on  the 
air,  or  a  species  of  air,  or  any  other  definition  which  may  be 
given  to  the  voice  by  those  who  are  skilled  in  such  matters ;  but 
what  is  called  the  "  voice  of  God"  is  said  to  be  seen  as  "  God's 
voice"  by  the  people  in  the  passage,  "  And  all  the  people  saw 
the  voice  of  God  ;"  ^  the  word  "  saw"  being  taken,  agreeably 
to  the  custom  of  Scripture,  in  a  spiritual  sense.  Moreover,  he 
alleges  that  "  God  possesses  nothing  else  of  which  toe  have  any 
knowledge ;"  but  of  what  things  ice  have  knowledge  he  gives 
no  indication.  If  he  means  "  limbs,"  we  agree  with  him,  under- 
standinfj  the  thin£fs  "  of  which  we  have  knowledge "  to  be  those 
called  corporeal,  and  pretty  generally  so  termed.  But  if  we  are 
to  understand  the  words  "of  which  we  have  knowledge"  in  a  uni- 
versal sense,  then  there  are  many  things  of  which  we  have  know- 

1  Cf.  Ps.  xix.  1.  2  cf.  Ps.  cii.  25. 

'  Cf.   Isa.   i.   20.  ■*    S:7(   TUV   OVl/UfCSUV. 

«  Cf.  Ex.  XX.  18  (LXX.).    The  Masoretic  text  is  different. 


Book  vi.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  405 

ledge,  [and  which  may  be  attributed  to  God]  ;  for  He  possesses 
virtue,  and  blessedness,  and  divinity.  If  we,  however,  put  a 
higher  meaning  upon  the  words,  "  of  which  ice  have  knowledge," 
since  all  that  we  know  is  less  than  God,  there  is  no  absurdity  in 
our  also  admitting  that  God  possesses  none  of  those  things  "of 
which  ice  have  knowledge."  For  the  attributes  which  belong 
to  God  are  far  superior  to  all  things  with  which  not  merely  the 
nature  of  man  is  acquainted,  but  even  that  of  those  who  have 
risen  far  above  it.  And  if  he  had  read  the  writings  of  the 
prophets,  David  on  the  one  hand  saying,  "  But  Thou  art  the 
same,"  ^  and  Malachi  on  the  other,  "  I  am  [the  Lord],  and  change 
not,""  he  would  have  observed  that  none  of  us  assert  that  there 
is  any  change  in  God,  either  in  act  or  thought.  For  abiding 
the  same,  He  administers  mutable  things  according  to  their 
nature,  and  His  word  elects  to  undertake  their  administration. 

Chapter  lxiii. 

Celsus,  not  observing  the  difference  between  "  after  the 
image  of  God "  and  "  God's  image,"  next  asserts  that  the 
"  first-born  of  every  creature"  is  the  image  of  God, — the  very 
word  and  truth,  and  also  the  very  wisdom,  being  the  image  of 
His  goodness,  while  man  has  been  created  after  the  image  of 
God  ;  moreover,  that  every  man  whose  head  is  Christ  is  the 
image  and  glory  of  God  ; — and  further,  not  observing  to  which 
of  the  characteristics  of  humanity  the  expression  '•  after  the 
image  of  God  "  belongs,  and  that  it  consists  in  a  nature  which 
never  had  or  no  longer  has  "  the  old  man  with  his  deeds," 
being  called  "  after  the  image  of  Him  who  created  it,"  from 
its  not  possessing  these  qualities, — he  maintains  :  "  Neither  did 
He  make  man  His  image ;  for  God  is  not  such  an  one,  nor  like 
any  other  species  of  [visible]  being."  Is  it  possible  to  suppose 
that  the  element  which  is  "  after  the  imao;e  of  God"  should 
exist  in  the  inferior  part — I  mean  the  body — of  a  compound 
being  like  man,  because  Celsus  has  explained  that  to  be  made 
after  the  image  of  God  ?  For  if  that  which  is  "  after  the 
image  of  God"  be  in  the  body  only,  the  better  part,  the  soul, 
has  been  deprived  of  that  which  is  "  after  His  image,"  and  this 
[distinction]  exists  in  the  corruptible  body, — an  assertion  which 
1  Cf.  Ps.  cu.  27.  2  cf,  Mai.  iii.  6. 


40G  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

is  made  by  none  of  us.  But  if  that  which  is  "  after  the  imaore 
of  God"  be  in  both  together^  then  God  must  necessarily  be  a 
compound  being,  and  consist,  as  it  \yere,  of  soul  and  body,  in 
order  that  the  element  which  is  "  after  God's  image,"  the  better 
part,  may  be  in  the  soul;  while  the  inferior  part,  and  that  which 
"  is  according  to  the  body,"  may  be  in  the  body, — an  assertion, 
again,  which  is  made  by  none  of  us.  It  remains,  therefore,  that 
that  which  is  "  after  the  image  of  God"  must  be  understood  to 
be  in  our  "  inner  man,"  which  is  also  renewed,  and  whose  nature 
it  is  to  be  "  after  the  image  of  Him  who  created  it,"  when  a 
man  becomes  "  perfect,"  as  "  our  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect," 
and  hears  the  command,  "  Be  ye  holy,  for  I  the  Lord  your 
God  am  holy,"  ^  and  learning  the  precept,  "  Be  ye  followers  of 
God,"^  receives  into  his  virtuous  soul  the  traits  of  God's  image. 
The  body,  moreover,  of  him  v.'ho  possesses  such  a  soul  is  a 
temple  of  God ;  and  in  the  soul  God  dwells,  because  it  has  been 
made  after  His  image.^ 

Chapter  lxiv. 

Celsus,  again,  brings  together  a  number  of  statements,  which 
he  gives  as  admissions  on  our  part,  but  which  no  intelligent 
Christian  would  allow.  For  not  one  of  us  asserts  that  "  God 
partakes  of  form  or  colour."  Nor  does  He  even  partake  of 
"  motion,"  because  He  stands  firm,  and  His  nature  is  perma- 
nent, and  He  invites  the  righteous  man  also  to  do  the  same, 
saying:  "  But  as  for  thee,  stand  thou  here  by  me."*  And  if 
certain  expresssions  indicate  a  kind  of  motion,  as  it  were,  on  his 
part,  such  as  this,  "  They  heard  the  voice  of  the  Lord  God 
walking  in  the  garden  in  the  cool  of  the  day,"^  we  must  under- 
stand them  in  this  way,  that  it  is  by  sinners  that  God  is  under- 
stood as  moving,  or  as  we  understand  the  "  sleep "  of  God, 
which  is  taken  in  a  figurative  sense,  or  His  "  anger,"  or  any 
other  similar  attribute.     But  "  God  does  not  partake  even  of 

^  L  :;v.  xi.  44.  ^  Cf.  Eph.  v.  1  (fii/nYirxi). 

2  The  words  as  they  stcand  in  the  text  arc  probably  corrupt :  we  have 
adopted  in  the  translation  the  emendation  of  Quietus  :  iri  x.»i  i>ct6;  ian  tou 
Qeov  TO  aojfcci  tov  TOtuvTrju  i^^oi/Tog  \pv)^'/iv,  kxI  \v  ryi  '4^v)ck  S/ei  to  xetr  tiKovx, 
TOt)  0£o'y. 

*  Dciit.  V.  31.  ^  Cf.  Geu.  iii.  8. 


Book  vi.] 


ORIGEN  AGAINST  GELS  US. 


407 


/ 


*  substance."  ^  For  Pie  is  partaken  of  [by  others]  rather  than 
that  Himself  partakes  of  them,  and  He  is  partaken  of  by  those 
who  have  the  Spirit  of  God.  Our  Saviour,  also,  does  not  par- 
take of  righteousness  ;  but  being  Himself  "righteousness,"  He 
is  partaken  of  by  the  righteous.  A  discussion  about  "  substance" 
would  be  protracted  and  difficult,  and  especially  if  it  were  a 
question  whether  that  which  is  permanent  and  immaterial  be 
"  substance"  properly  so  called,  so  that  it  would  be  found  that 
God  is  beyond  "  substance,"  communicating  of  His  "  sub- 
stance," by  means  of  office  and  power,'  to  those  to  whom  Pie 
communicates  Himself  by  His  Word,  as  He  does  to  the  Word 
Himself ;  or  even  if  He  is  "  substance,"  yet  He  is  said  to  be 
in  His  nature  "  invisible,"  in  these  words  respecting  our  Saviour, 
who  is  said  to  be  "  the  image  of  the  invisible  God,"  ^  while  from 
the  term  "  invisible"  it  is  indicated  that  He  is  "  immaterial."  It 
is  also  a  question  for  investigation,  whether  the  "  only-begotten" 
and  "  first-born  of  every  creature"  is  to  be  called  "  substance 
of  substances,"  and  ''  idea  of  ideas,"  and  the  "  principle  of  all 
things,"  while  above  all  there  is  His  Father  and  God_. 


Chapter  lxv. 


Celsus  proceeds  to  say  of  God  that  "of  Him  are  all  things," 
abandoning  [in  so  speaking],  I  know  not  how,  all  his  principles  ;"' 
while  our  Paul  declares,  that  "  of  Him,  and  through  Him,  and 
to  Him  are  all  things,"  ®  showing  that  He  is  the  beginning  of 
the  substance  of  all  things  by  the  words  "  of  Him,"  and  the 
bond  of  their  subsistence  by  the  expression  "  through  Him," 
and  their  final  end  by  the  terms  "  to  Him."  Of  a  truth,  God 
is  of  nothing.  But  when  Celsus  adds,  that  "  He  is  not  to  be 
reached  by  word,"  ^  I  make  a  distinction,  and  say  that  if  he 
means  the  word  that  is  in  us — whether  the  word  conceived  in 
the  mind,  or  the  word  that  is  uttered  ^— I,  too,  admit  that  God 
is  not  to  be  reached  by  word.  If,  however,  we  attend  to  the 
passage,  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was 

^  oi/tjix.  ^  TTpsafislx  Kxl  tvv»uii.  ^  Cf.  Col.  i.  15. 

*  For  u-jTol)  Boherellus  conjectures  civroli,  and  translates,  '■'■Propria  ipse 
principia,  quse  sunt  Epicuri,  subruens." 

*  Eom.  xi.  36.  ^  ov^e  Aoy^  {(piKTOg. 
'  UTi  ivltoidirci>  thi  >ceci  7^pQ(DoptK^. 


408  OniGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God,"  ^  we  are  of  opinion  that 
God  is  to  be  reached  by  tJds  Word,  and  is  comprehended  not 
by  Him  only,  but  by  any  one  whatever  to  whom  He  may  reveal 
the  Father ;  and  thus  we  shall  prove  the  falsity  of  the  assertion 
of  Celsus,  when  he  says,  "  Neither  is  God  to  be  reached  by 
word."  The  statement,  moreover,  that  "  He  cannot  be  ex- 
pressed by  name,"  requires  to  be  taken  with  a  distinction.  If 
he  means,  indeed,  that  there  is  no  word  or  sign  *  that  can  re- 
present the  attributes  of  God,  the  statement  is  true,  since  there 
are  many  qualities  which  cannot  be  indicated  by  words.  Who, 
for  example,  could  describe  in  words  the  difference  betwixt  the 
quality  of  sweetness  in  a  palm  and  that  in  a  fig?  And  who 
could  distinguish  and  set  forth  in  words  the  peculiar  qualities 
of  each  individual  thing?  It  is  no  Vtonder,  then,  if  in  this 
way  God  cannot  be  described  by  name.  But  if  you  take  the 
phrase  to  mean  that  it  is  possible  to  represent  by  words  some- 
thing of  God's  attributes,  in  order  to  lead  the  hearer  by  the 
hand,"  as  it  were,  and  so  enable  him  to  comprehend  something 
of  God,  so  far  as  attainable  by  human  nature,  then  there  is  no 
absurdity  in  saying  that  "  He  can  be  described  by  name."  And 
we  make  a  similar  distinction  with  regard  to  the  expression, 
"  for  He  has  undergone  no  suffering  that  can  be  conveyed  by 
words."  It  is  true  that  the  Deity  is  beyond  all  suffering.  And 
so  much  on  this  point. 

Chapter  lxvi. 

Let  us  look  also  at  his  next  statement,  in  which  he  intro- 
duces, as  it  were,  a  certain  person,  who,  after  hearing  what  has 
been  said,  expresses  himself  in  the  following  manner,  "  How, 
then,  shall  I  know  God?  and  liov.'  shall  I  learn  the  way  that 
leads  to  Him  ?  And  ho\Y  will  you  show  Him  to  me  ?  Because 
now,  indeed,  you  throw  darkness  before  my  eyes,  and  I  see 
nothing  distinctly."  He  then  answers,  as  it  were,  the  indi- 
vidual who  is  thus  perplexed,  and  thinks  that  he  assigns  the 
reason  why  darkness  has  been  poured  upon  the  eyes  of  him 
who  uttered  the  foreffointx  words,  when  he  asserts  that  "  those 
whom  one  would  lead  forth  out  of  darkriess  into  the  brightness 
of  light,  being  unable  to  withstand  its  splendours,  have  their 


Book  VI.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  409 

power  of  vision  affected  ^  and  injured,  and  so  imagine  that  they 
are  smitten  with  blindness."  In  answer  to  this,  we  would  say 
that  all  those  indeed  sit  in  darkness,  and  are  rooted  in  it,  who  fix 
their  gaze  upon  the  evil  handiwork  of  painters,  and  moulders 
and  sculptors,  and  who  will  not  look  upwards,  and  ascend  in 
thouglit  from  all  visible  and  sensible  things,  to  the  Creator 
of  all  things,  who  is  light ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  every 
one  is  in  light  who  has  followed  the  radiance  of  the  Word,  who 
has  shown  in  consequence  of  what  ignorance,  and  impiety,  and 
want  of  knowledge  of  divine  things  these  objects  were  wor- 
shipped instead  of  God,  and  who  has  conducted  the  soul  of  him 
who  desires  to  be  saved  towards  the  uncreated  God,  who  is  over 
all.  For  "  the  people  that  sat  in  darkness — the  Gentiles — saw 
a  great  light,  and  to  them  who  sat  in  the  region  and  shadow  of 
death  light  is  sprung  up,"  ^ — the  God  Jesus.  No  Christian, 
then,  would  give  Celsus,  or  any  accuser  of  the  divine  Word, 
the  answer,  "  How  shall  I  know  Godi  "  for  each  one  of  them 
knows  God  according  to  his  capacity.  And  no  one  asks, 
"  How  shall  I  learn  the  way  which  leads  to  Him?  "  because  he 
has  heard  Him  who  says,  "  I  am  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and 
the  life,""  and  has  tasted,  in  the  course  of  the  journey,  the 
happiness  which  results  from  it.  And  not  a  single  Christian 
would  say  to  Celsus,  "  How  will  you  show  me  God  ?  " 

Chapter  lxvii. 

The  remark,  indeed,  was  true  which  Celsus  made,  that  any 
one,  on  hearing  his  words,  would  answer,  seeing  that  his  words 
are  words  of  darkness,  "  You  pour  darkness  before  my  eyes." 
Celsus  verily,  and  those  like  him,  do  desire  to  pour  darkness 
before  our  eyes  :  we,  however,  by  means  of  the  light  of  the 
Word,  disperse  the  darkness  of  their  impious  opinions.  The 
Christian,  indeed,  could  retort  on  Celsus,  who  says  nothing 
that  is  distinct  or  true,  "  I  see  nothing  that  is  distinct  among 
all  your  statements."  It  is  not,  therefore,  "  out  of  darkness  " 
into  "  the  brightness  of  light "  that  Celsus  leads  us  forth:  he 
wishes,  on  the  contrary,  to  transport  us  from  light  into  darkness, 
making  the  darkness  light  and  the  liglit  darkness,  and  exposing 
himself  to  the  woe  well  described  by  the  prophet  Isaiah  in  the 

^  KoXx^iadsti.  -  Cf.  Matt.  iv.  16  and  Isa.  is..  2.  ^  John  xiv.  6. 


410  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

following  manner:  "Woe  unto  them  that  put  darkness  for  light, 
and  light  for  darkness."  ^     But  we,  the  eyes  of  whose  soul  have 
been  opened  by  the  Word,  and  who  see  the  difference  between 
light  and  darkness,  prefer  by  all  means  to  take  our  stand  "  in 
the  liffht,"  and  will  have  nothino;  to  do  with  darkness  at  all. 
Tlie  true  light,  moreover,  being  endued  with  life,  knows  to 
whom  his  full  splendours  are  to  be  manifested,  and  to  whom 
..  his  light ;  for  he  does  not  display  his  brilliancy  on  account  of 
!  the  still  existing  weakness  in  the  eyes  of  the  recipient.     And 
{  if  we  must  speak  at  all  of  "  sight  being  affected  and  injured," 
j  what  other  eyes  shall  we  say  are  in  this  condition,  than  his  who 
<  is  involved  in  ignorance  of  God,  and  who  is  prevented  by  his 
;  passions  from  seeing  the  truth?     Christians,  however,  by  no 
means  consider  that  they  are  blinded  by  the  words  of  Celsus, 
or  any  other  who  is  opposed  to  the  worship  of  God.     But  let 
those  who  perceive  that  they  are  blinded  by  following  multi- 
tudes who  are  in  error,  and  tribes  of  those  who  keep  festivals 
to  demons,  draw  near  to  the  Word,  who  can  bestow  the  gift  of 
/  sight,^  in  order  that,  like  those  poor  and  blind  who  had  thrown 
'  themselves  down  by  the  wayside,  and  who  were  healed  by  Jesus 
because  they  said  to  Him,  "  Son  of  David,  have  mercy  upon 
me,"  they  too  may  receive  mercy  and  recover  their  eyesight, '^ 
fresh  and  beautiful,  as  the  Word  of  God  can  create  it. 

Chapter  lxviii. 

f 

Accordingly,  if  Celsus  were  to  ask  us  how  we  think  we 
know  God,  and  how  we  shall  be  saved  by  Him,  we  would 
answer  that  the  Word  of  God,  which  entered  into  those  who 
seek  Him,  or  who  accept  Him  when  Pie  appears,  is  able  to 
J  make  known  and  to  reveal  the  Father,  who  was  not  seen  [by 
«  any  one]  before  the  appearance  of  the  Word.  And  who  else  is 
able  to  save  and  conduct  the  soul  of  man  to  the  God  of  all 
things,  save  God  the  Word,  who,  "being  in  the  beginning 
with  God,"  became  flesh  for  the  sake  of  those  who  had  cleaved 
to  the  flesh,  and  had  become  as  flesh,  that  He  might  be  received 
by  those  who  could  not  behold  Him,  inasmuch  as  He  was  the 
Word,  and  was  with  God,  and  was  God?  And  discoursing 
in  human  form,^  and  announcing  Himself  as  flesh.  He  calls  to 

^  Cf.  Isa.  V.  20.  ^  i(f)dxhfiovs.  ^  dcp^^A^oyff.  *  auf^ATiKui. 


Book  vi.]  OltlGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  411 

Himself  those  who  are  flesh,  that  He  may  in  the  first  place 
cause  them  to  be  transformed  according  to  the  Word  that  was 
made  flesh,  and  afterwards  may  lead  them  upwards  to  behold 
Him  as  He  was  before  Pie  became  flesh  ;  so  that  they,  receiv- 
ing the  benefit,  and  ascending  from  their  great  introduction  to 
Him,  which  was  according  to  the  flesh,  say,  "  Even  if  we 
have  known  Christ  after  the  flesh,  yet  henceforth  know  we 
Him  no  more."  Therefore  He  became  flesh,  and  having  be- 
come flesh,  ''  He  tabernacled  among  us,"  not  dwelling  without 
us  ;  and  after  tabernacling  and  dwelling  xoitldn  us,  He  did  not 
continue  in  the  form  in  which  He  first  presented  Himself,  but 
caused  us  to  ascend  to  the  lofty  mountain  of  His  woi'd,  and 
showed  us  His  own  glorious  form,  and  the  splendour  of  His  ]^ 
garments ;  and  not  His  own  form  alone,  but  that  also  of  the 
spiritual  law,  which  is  Moses,  seen  in  glory  along  with  Jesus. 
He  showed  to  us,  moreover,  all  prophecy,  which  did  not  perish 
even  after  His  incarnation,  but  was  received  up  into  heaven, 
and  whose  symbol  was  Elijah.  And  he  who  beheld  these 
things  could  say,  "  We  beheld  His  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the 
only-begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth."  ^  Celsus, 
then,  has  exhibited  considerable  ignorance  in  the  imaginary 
answer  to  his  question  which  he  puts  into  our  mouth,  "  How 
we  think  we  can  know  God  ?  and  how  we  know  we  shall  be 
saved  by  Him  ?  "  for  our  answer' is  what  we  have  just  stated. 

Chapter  lxtx. 

Celsus,  however,  asserts  that  the  answer  which  we  give 
is  based  upon  a  probable  conjecture,'  admitting  that  he  de- 
scribes our  answer  in  the  following  terms  :  '•  Since  God  is 
great  and  difficult  to  see,^  He  put  His  own  Spirit  into  a  body 
that  resembled  ours,  and  sent  it  down  to  us,  that  we  might  be 
enabled  to  hear  Him  and  become  acquainted  with  Him."  But 
the  God  and  Father  of  all  things  is  not  the  only  being  that  is 
great  in  our  judgment ;  for  He  has  imparted  [a  share]  of 
Himself  and  His  greatness  to  His  only-begotten  and  first-born 
of  every  creature,  in  order  that  He,  being  the  image  of  the 
invisible  God,  might  preserve,  even  in  His  greatness,  the  image 
of  the  Father.     For  it  was  not  possible  that  there  could  exist 

^  Cf.  John  i.  14.  ^  tiKOTi  a-ro'/^ot-a^u.  ^  ZvadiiipnTOg. 


412  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

a  well-proportioned,^  so  to  speak,  and  beautiful  image  of  the 
invisible  God,  which  did  not  at  the  same  time  preserve  the 
image  of  His  greatness.  God,  moreover,  is  in  our  judgment 
invisible,  because  He  is  not  a  body,  while  He  can  be  seen  by 
those  who  see  with  the  heart,  that  is,  the  understanding ;  not 

-  indeed  with  any  kind  of  heart,  but  with  one  which  is  pure. 
For  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  fitness  of  things  that  a  polluted 
heai't  should  look  upon  God  ;  for  that  must  be  itself  pure  which 
would  worthily  behold  that  which  is  pure.  Let  it  be  granted, 
indeed,  that  God  is  "  difficult  to  see,"  yet  He  is  not  the  only 
being  who  is  so;  for  His  Only-begotten  also  is  "difficult  to  see." 

[  For  God  the  Word  is  "'  difficult  to  see,"  and  so  also  is  His  ^  wis- 
dom, by  which  God  created  all  things.     For  who  is  capable  of 

\  seeing  the  wisdom  which  is  displayed  in  each  individual  part  of 
the  whole  system  of  things,  and  by  which  God  created  every 
individual  thing?  It  was  not,  then,  because  God  was  *'  difficult 
to  see  "  that  He  sent  God  His  Son  to  be  an  object  "  easy  to  be 
seen."  ^  And  because  Celsus  does  not  understand  this,  he  has 
represented  us  as  saying,  "Because  God  was  'difficult  to  sec,' 
He  put  His  own  Spirit  in  a  body  resembling  oui's,  and  sent  it 
down  to  us,  that  we  might  be  enabled  to  hear  Him  and  become 
acquainted  with  Him."  Now,  as  we  have  stated,  the  Son  also  is 
"  difficult  to  see,"  because  He  is  God  the  Word,  through  whom 
all  things  were  made,  and  who  "  tabernacled  amongst  us." 

CHArXER  LXX. 

If  Celsus,  indeed,  had  understood  our  teaching  regarding 
the  Spirit  of  God,  and  had  known  that  "  as  many  as  are  led 
by  the  Spirit  of  God,  these  are  the  sons  of  God,"*  he  would 
not  have  returned  to  himself  the  answer  which  he  represents 
as  coming  from  us,  that  "  God  put  His  own  Spirit  into  a  body, 
and  sent  it  down  to  us ;  "  for  God  is  perpetually  bestowing  of 
His  own  Spirit  to  those  who  are  capable  of  receiving  it, 
although  it  is  not  by  way  of  division  and  separation  that  He 
dwells  in  [the  hearts  of]  the  deserving.  Nor  is  the  Spirit,  in 
our  opinion,  a  "  body,"  any  more  than  fire  is  a  "  body,"  which 

2  For  ovrual  we  have  adopted  the  conjecture  of  Guietus,  rovrov. 
'  u;  ivSioipftrav.  *  Rom.  viii.  14. 


Booii  VI.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  413 

God  is  said  to  be  in  the  passage,  "  Our  God  is  a  consuming 
fire."  ^  For  all  these  are  figurative  expressions,  employed  to 
denote  the  nature  of  "  intelligent  beings"  by  means  of  familiar 
and  corporeal  terms.  In  the  same  way,  too,  if  sins  are  called 
"  Avood,  and  straw,  and  stubble,"  we  shall  not  maintain  that 
sins  are  corporeal  ;  and  if  blessings  are  termed  "  gold,  and 
silver,  and  precious  stones," "  we  shall  not  maintain  that  bless- 
ings are  "corporeal;"  so  also,  if  God  be  said  to  be  a  fire  that 
consumes  wood,  and  straw,  and  stubble,  and  all  substance  ^  of 
sin,  we  shall  not  understand  Him  to  be  a  "body,"  so  neither 
do  we  understand  Him  to  be  a  body  if  He  should  be  called 
"  fire."  In  this  way,  if  God  be  called  "  spirit,"  "^  we  do  not 
mean  that  He  is  a  "  body."  For  it  is  the  custom  of  Scripture 
to  give  to  ''intelligent  beings"  the  names  of  "spirits"  and 
"  spiritual  things,"  by  way  of  distinction  from  those  which 
are  the  objects  of  "  sense;  "  as  when  Paul  says,  "  But  our  suf- 
ficiency is  of  God,  who  hath  also  made  us  able  ministers  of 
the  New  Testament ;  not  of  the  letter,  but  of  the  spirit ;  for 
the  letter  killeth,  but  the  spirit  giveth  life,"  ^  where  by  the 
"  letter  "  he  means  that  "  exposition  of  Scripture  which  is  ap- 
parent to  the  senses,"  ^  while  by  the  "  spirit "  that  which  is 
the  object  of  the  "  understanding."  It  is  the  same,  too,  with 
the  expression,  "  God  is  a  Spirit."  And  because  the  prescrip- 
tions of  the  law  were  obeyed  both  by  Samaritans  and  Jews  in 
a  corporeal  and  literal '  manner,  our  Saviour  said  to  the  Sama- 
ritan woman,  "  The  hour  is  coming,  when  neither  in  Jerusalem, 
nor  in  this  mountain,  shall  ye  worship  the  Father.  God  is  a 
Spirit,  and  they  that  worship  Him  must  worship  Him  in  spirit 
and  in  truth."  ^  And  by  these  words  He  taught  men  that  God 
must  be  worshipped  not  iu  the  flesh,  and  with  fleshly  sacrifices, 
but  in  the  spirit.  And  He  will  be  understood  to  be  a  Spirit  in 
proportion  as  the  worship  rendered  to  Him  is  rendered  in  spirit, 
and  with  understanding.    It  is  not,  however,  with  images  ^  that 

1  Cf.  Heb.  xii.  29.  2  ^f  ^  q^^.  ^i  12.  "  ^«a«v  oviixv. 

*  -TTViv^ot,.     There  is  an  allusion  to  the  two  meanings  of  Truiv  14,01,  "  wind  " 
and  "  spirit." 

^  2  Cor.  iii.  5,  6.  «  tsjv  ociad/iT'/iv  Ikoox'^v. 

^  rvTriKu;  here  evidently  must  have  the  above  meaning 

8  Cf.  John  iv.  21,  2i.  »  h  rvT^ois. 


Y 


414  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

we  are  to  worship  the  Father,  but  "  in  truth,"  which  "  came  by 
Jesus  Christ,"  after  the  giving  of  the  law  by  Moses.  For  when 
we  turn  to  the  Lord  (and  the  Lord  is  a  Spirit^),  He  takes  away 
the  veil  which  lies  upon  the  heart  when  Moses  is  read. 

Chapter  lxxi. 

Celsus  accordingly,  as  not  understanding  the  doctrine  relat- 
ing to  the  Spirit  of  God  ("  for  the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the 
things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him  ; 
neither  can  he  know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  dis- 
cerned"^), weaves  together  [such  a  web]  as  pleases  himself,^  ima- 
gining that  we,  in  calling  God  a  Spirit,  differ  in  no  respect  in 
this  particular  from  the  Stoics  among  the  Greeks,  who  main- 
tain that  "  God  is  a  Spirit,  diffused  through  all  things,  and 
containing  all  things  within  Himself."  Now  the  superintend- 
ence and  providence  of  God  does  extend  through  all  things, 
but  not  in  the  way  that  spirit  does,  according  to  the  Stoics. 
Providence  indeed  contains  all  things  that  are  its  objects,  and 
comprehends  them  all,  but  not  as  a  containing  body  includes 
its  contents,  because  they  also  are  "  body,"  *  but  as  a  divine 
power  does  it  comprehend  what  it  contains.  According  to  the 
philosophers  of  the  Porch,  indeed,  who  assert  that  principles 
are  "  corporeal,"  and  who  on  that  account  make  all  things 
perishable,  and  who  venture  even  to  make  the  God  of  all  things 
capable  of  perishing,  the  very  Word  of  God,  who  descends 
even  to  the  lowest  of  mankind,  would  be — did  it  not  appear  to 
them  to  be  too  gross  an  incongruity^ — nothing  else  than  a 
"  corporeal "  spirit ;  whereas,  in  our  opinion, — who  endeavour 
to  demonstrate  that  the  rational  soul  is  superior  to  all  "  cor- 
poreal "  nature,  and  that  it  is  an  invisible  substance,  and  incor- 
poreal,— God  the  Word,  by  whom  all  things  were  made,  who 
came,  in  order  that  all  things  might  be  made  by  the  Word, 
not  to  men  only,  but  to  what  are  deemed  the  very  lowest  of 
things,  under  the  dominion  of  nature  alone,  would  be  no  body. 
The  Stoics,  then,  may  consign  all  things  to  destruction  by  fire ; 
we,  however,  know  of  no  incorporeal  substance  that  is  destructible 

1  Cf.  2  Cor.  iii.  17.  ^  Cf.  1  Cor.  ii.  14.  ^  j^^^^  trui/axre/. 

*  ovx  ^i;  (7Z/HX  6s  -TTipii^ov  'TTipdyjt,  on  kxi  aufta  isri  to  'Trionxif^ivoii. 


Book  vi.]  OTJGEN  AGAINST  C ELS  US.  415 

by  fire,  nor  [do  we  believe]  that  the  soul  of  man,  or  tlie  sub- 
stance  of   "  angels,"    or   of   "  thrones,"    or  "  dominions/'   or 
V  V,  "  principalities,"  or  "  powers,"  can  be  dissolved  by  fire. 

Chapter  lxxii. 

It  is  therefoi'e  in  vain  that  Celsus  asserts,  as  one  who  knows 
not  the  nature  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  that  "  as  the  Son  of  God, 
who  existed  in  a  human  body,  is  a  Spirit,  this  very  Son  of  God 
would  not  be  immortal."  He  next  becomes  confused  in  his 
statements,  as  if  there  were  some  of  us  who  did  not  admit  that 
God  is  a  Spirit,  but  maintain  that  only  with  regard  to  His  Son, 
and  he  thinks  that  he  can  answer  us  by  saying  that  there  "  is 
no  kind  of  spirit  which  lasts  for  ever."  This  is  much  the  same 
as  if,  when  we  term  God  a  "  consuming  fire,"  he  were  to  say 
that  there  "  is  no  kind  of  fire  which  lasts  for  ever ;  "  not  observ- 
ing the  sense  in  which  we  say  that  our  God  is  a  fire,  and  what 
the  things  are  which  He  consumes,  viz.  sins,  and  wickedness. 
For  it  becomes  a  God  of  goodness,  after  each  individual  has 
shown,  by  his  efforts,  what  kind  of  combatant  he  has  been,  to 
consume  vice  by  the  fire  of  His  chastisements.  He  proceeds, 
in  the  next  place,  to  assume  what  we  do  not  maintain,  that  / 
"  God  must  necessarily  have  given  up  the  ghost ; "  from  which  ^ 
also  it  follows  that  Jesus  could  not  have  risen  again  with  His 
body.  For  God  would  not  have  received  back  the  spirit  which 
He  had  surrendered  after  it  had  been  stained  by  contact  with 
the  body.  It  is  foolish,  however,  for  us  to  answer  statements 
as  ours  which  were  never  made  by  us. 

Chapter  lxxiii. 

He  proceeds  to  repeat  himself,  and  after  saying  a  great  deal 
which  he  had  said  before,  and  ridiculing  the  birth  of  God  from 
a  virgin, — to  which  we  have  already  replied  as  we  best  could, — 
he  adds  the  following  :  "  If  God  had  wished  to  send  down  His 
Spirit  from  Himself,  what  need  was  there  to  breathe  it  into  the 
womb  of  a  woman  ?  For  as  one  who  knew  already  how  to 
form  men.  He  could  also  have  fashioned  a  body  for  this  person, 
without  casting  His  own  Spirit  into  so  much  pollution  ;  ^  and  in 
this  way  He  would  not  have  been  received  with  incredulity,  if 

^  si;  r070VT0v  j:it'x(7f4.cc. 


416  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

He  had  derived  His  existence  immediately  from  above."  He 
has  made  these  remarks,  because  he  knows  not  the  pure  and 
virgin  birth,  unaccompanied  by  any  corruption,  of  that  body 
which  was  to  minister  to  the  salvation  of  men.  For,  quoting 
the  sayings  of  the  Stoics,^  and  affecting  not  to  know  the  doctrine 
about  "  tilings  indiffei'ent,"  he  thinks  that  the  divine  nature 
was  cast  amid  pollution,  and  w^as  stained  either  by  being  in  the 
body  of  a  woman,  until  a  body  was  formed  around  it,  or  by 
» assuming  a  body.  And  in  this  he  acts  like  those  who  imagine 
I  that  the  sun's  rays  are  polluted  by  dung  and  by  foul-smelling 
\  bodies,  and  do  not  remain  pure  amid  such  things.  If,  how^ever, 
according  to  the  view  of  Celsus,  the  body  of  Jesus  had  been 
fashioned  without  generation,  those  who  beheld  the  body  would 
at  once  have  believed  that  it  had  not  been  formed  by  genera- 
tion ;  and  yet  an  object,  when  seen,  does  not  at  the  same  time 
indicate  the  nature  of  that  from  which  it  has  derived  its  origin. 
'  For  example,  suppose  that  there  were  some  honey  [placed  be- 
fore one]  which  had  not  been  manufactured  by  bees,  no  one 
could  tell  from  the  taste  or  sight  that  it  was  not  their  work- 
manship, because  the  honey  which  comes  from  bees  does  not 
make  known  its  origin  by  the  senses,^  but  experience  alone  can 
tell  that  it  does  not  proceed  from  them.  In  the  same  way,'tbo, 
experience  teaches  that  wine  comes  from  the  vine,  for  taste 
does  not  enable  us  to  distinguish  [the  wine]  which  comes  from 
the  vine.  In  the  same  manner,  therefore,  the  visible^  body 
does  not  make  knowMi  the  manner  of  its  existence.  And  you 
will  be  induced  to  accept  this  view,"*  by  [regarding]  the  heavenly 
bodies,  whose  existence  and  splendour  we  perceive  as  we  gaze 
at  them  ;  and  yet,  I  presume,  their  appearance  does  not  suggest 
J  to  us  whether  they  are  created  or  uncreated ;  and  accordingly 
^different  opinions  have  existed  on  these  points.  And  yet  those 
who  say  that  they  are  created  arc  not  agreed  as  to  the  manner 
of  their  creation,  for  their  appearance  does  not  suggest  it, 
although  the  force  of  reason^  may  have  discovered  that  they 
are  created,  and  how  their  creation  was  effected. 

^  Cf.  Book  iv.  cc.  14  and  68.  ^  rn  xtadmu  tv^v  dpx^^v. 

''  xccv  fitxacifiii/os  6  T^.oyo;  i'vpvj. 


Book  vi.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  GELS  US.  417 

Chapter  lxxiv. 

After  this  he  returns  to  the  subject  of  Marcion's  opinions 
(having  already  spoken  frequently  of  them),  and  states  some 
of  them  correctly,  while  others  he  has  misunderstood ;  these, 
however,  it  is  not  necessary  for  us  to  answer  or  refute.  Again, 
after  this  he  brings  forward  the  various  arguments  that  may  be 
urged  on  Marcion's  behalf,  and  also  against  him,  enumerating 
what  the  opinions  are  which  exonerate  him  from  the  charges, 
and  what  expose  him  to  them ;  and  when  he  desires  to  support 
the  statement  which  declares  that  Jesus  has  been  the  subject  of 
prophecy, — in  order  to  found  a  charge  against  Marcion  and  his 
followers, — he  distinctly  asks,  "  How  could  he,  who  was  punished 
in  such  a  manner,  be  shown  to  be  God's  Son,  unless  these  things 
had  been  predicted  of  him?"  He  next  proceeds  to  jest,  and, 
as  his  custom  is,  to  pour  ridicule  upon  the  subject,  introducing 
*•  two  sons  of  God,  one  the  son  of  the  Creator,^  and  the  other 
the  son  of  Marcion's  God ;  and  he  portrays  their  single  com- 
bats, saying  that  the  Theomachies  of  the  Fathers  are  like  the 
battles  between  quails;'"  or  that  the  Fathers,  becoming  useless 
throu2;h  ao;e,  and  fallins;  into  their  dotatre,^  do  not  meddle  at  all 
with  one  another,  but  leave  their  sons  to  fight  it  out."  The 
remark  which  he  made  formerly  we  will  tvirn  against  himself : 
"  What  old  woman  would  not  be  ashamed  to  lull  a  child  to  sleep 
with  such  stories  as  he  has  inserted  in  the  work  which  he  entitles 
A  True  Discourse?  For  when  he  ought  seriously*  to  apply 
himself  to  argument,  he  leaves  serious  argument  aside,  and 
betakes  himself  to  jesting  and  buffoonery,  imagining  that  he 
is  writinsi:  mimes  or  scoffina;  verses ;  not  observing  that  such  a 
method  of  procedure  defeats  his  purpose,  which  is  to  make  us 
abandon  Christianity  and  give  in  our  adherence  to  his  opinions, 
which,  perhaps,  had  they  been  stated  with  some  degree  of 
gravity,^  would  have  appeared  more  likely  to  convince,  whereas, 
since  he  continues  to  ridicule,  and  scoff,  and  play  the  buffoon, 
we  answer  that  it  is  because  he  has  no  argument  of  weight^  (for 
such  he  neither  had,  nor  could  understand)  that  he  has  betaken 
himself  to  such  drivellins;."  ^ 


^  TOW  ^Yifiiovpyov. 

2  opTvyuu.          3  >,jjfloS;/r«;. 

*  'zpcty^XTiy^u;. 

*  iasi^vo'hQyit. 

^  cifivui/  Xi'/uv. 

''  ToactVT-/iu  <p}\.vctpixv 

ORIG. — VOL.  II. 

2  D 

418  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

Chapter  lxxv. 

To  the  preceding  remarks  he  adds  tlie  following :  "  Since  a 
divine  Spirit  inhabited  the  body  [of  Jesus],  it  must  certainly 
have  been  different  from  that  of  other  beings,  in  respect  of 
grandeur,  or  beauty,  or  strength,  or  voice,  or  impressiveness,^ 
or  persuasiveness.  For  it  is  impossible  that  He,  to  whom  was 
imparted  some  divine  quality  beyond  other  beings,  should  not 
differ  from  others ;  whereas  this  person  did  not  differ  in  any 
respect  from  another,  but  was,  as  they  report,  little,  and  ill- 
favoured,  and  ignoble."  ^  Now  it  is  evident  by  these  words, 
that  when  Celsus  wishes  to  brino;  a  charge  against  Jesus,  he 
adduces  the  sacred  writings,  as  one  who  believed  them  to  be 
writings  apparently  fitted  to  afford  a  handle  for  a  charge  against 
Him ;  but  wherever^  in  the  same  writings,  statements  would 
appear  to  be  made  opposed  to  those  charges  which  are  adduced, 
I  he  pretends  not  even  to  know  them !  There  are,  indeed,  ad- 
mitted to  be  recorded  some  statements  respecting  the  body  of 
Jesus  having  been  "ill-favoured;"  not,  however,  "ignoble,"  as 
(has  been  stated,  nor  is  there  any  certain  evidence  that  he  was 
' "  little."  The  language  of  Isaiah  runs  as  follows,  who  pro- 
phesied regarding  Him  that  He  would  come  and  visit  the  mul- 
titude, not  in  comeliness  of  form,  nor  in  any  surpassing  beauty : 
'•'  Lord,  who  hath  believed  our  report,  and  to  whom  was  the  arm 
of  the  Lord  revealed?  He  made  announcement  before  Him, 
as  a  child,  as  a  root  in  a  thirsty  ground.  He  has  no  form  nor 
glory,  and  we  beheld  Him,  and  He  had  no  form  nor  beauty ; 
but  His  form  was  without  honour,  and  inferior  to  that  of  the 
sons  of  men."  ^  These  passages,  then,  Celsus  listened  to,  be- 
cause he  thought  they  were  of  Vii,Q  to  him  in  bringing  a  charge 
against  Jesus;  but  he  paid  no  attention  to  the  words  of  the 
45th  Psalm,  and  why  it  is  then  said,  "  Gird  Thy  sword  upon 
Thy  thigh,  O  most  mighty,  with  Thy  comeliness  and  beauty, 
and  continue,  and  prosper,  and  reign."  ■* 

Chapter  lxxvi. 
Let  it  be  supposed,  however,  that  he  had  not  read  the  pro- 

3  Cf.  Isa.  liii.  1-3  (LXX.).  '  Cf.  Ps.  xlv.  3,  4  (LXX.). 


Book  vi.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  419 

pliecy,  or  that  lie  had  read  it,  but  had  been  drawn  away  by 
those  who  misinterpreted  it  as  not  being  spoken  of  Jesus  Clirist. 
What  has  he  to  say  of  the  Gospel,  in  the  narratives  of  which 
Jesus  ascended  up  into  a  high  mountain,  and  was  transfigured 
before  the  disciples,  and  was  seen  in  glory,  when  both  ]\Ioses 
and  Elias,  "  being  seen  in  glory,  spake  of  the  decease  which  He 
was  about  to  accomplish  at  Jerusalem?"  or  when  the  prophet 
says,  "  We  beheld  Him,  and  He  had  no  form  nor  beauty,"  etc.? 
and  Celsus  accepts  this  prophecy  as  referring  to  Jesus,  being 
blinded  in  so  accepting  it,  and  not  seeing  that  it  is  a  great 
proof  that  the  Jesus  who  appeared  to  be  "  without  form  "  was 
the  Son  of  God,  that  His  very  appearance  should  have  been 
made  the  subject  of  prophecy  many  years  before  His  birth. 
But  if  another  prophet  speak  of  His  comeliness  and  beauty,  he 
will  no  longer  accept  the  prophecy  as  referring  to  Christ ! 
And  if  it  w^ere  to  be  clearly  ascertained  from  the  Gospels  that 
"  He  had  no  form  nor  beauty,  but  that  His  appearance  was 
without  honour,  and  inferior  to  that  of  the  sous  of  men,"  it 
might  be  said  that  it  w'as  not  with  reference  to  the  prophetic 
writings,  but  to  the  Gospels,  that  Celsus  made  his  remarks. 
But  now,  as  neither  the  Gospels  nor  the  apostolic  writings  in- 
dicate that  "  He  had  no  form  nor  beauty,"  it  is  evident  that  w^e 
must  accept  the  declaration  of  the  prophets  as  true  of  Christ, 
and  this  will  prevent  the  charge  against  Jesus  from  being 
advanced.^ 

Chapter  lxxvii. 

But  again,  how  did  he  who  said,   "  Since  a  divine  Spirit 

inhabited  the  body  [of  Jesus],  it  must  certainly  have  been 

different  from  that  of  other  beings  in  respect  of  grandeur,  or 

voice,  or  strength,  or  impressiveness,  or  persuasiveness,"  not 

J  observe  the  changing  relation  of  His  body  according  to  the 

capacity  of   the  spectators  (and  therefore   its   corresponding 

utility),  inasmuch  as  it  appeared  to  each  one  of  such  a  nature 

as  it  was  requisite  for  him  to  behold  it  ?     jMoreover,  it  is  not  a 

subject  of  w^onder  that  the  matter,  which  is  by  nature  suscep- 

\  tible  of  beincp  altered  and  changed,  and  of  beina;  transformed 

/into  anything  which  the  Creator   chooses,  and  is  capable  of 

^  irpoiiotluiiU. 


420  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Booe  vi. 

receiving  all  the  qualities  which  the  Artificer  desires,  should 
!  at  one  time  possess  a  quality,  agreeably  to  which  it  is  said, 
"  He  had  no  form  nor  beauty,"  and  at  another,  one  so  glorious, 
and  majestic,  and  marvellous,  that  the  spectators  of  such  sur- 
passing loveliness — three  disciples  who  had  ascended  [the 
mount]  with  Jesus — should  fall  upon  their  faces.  He  will  say, 
however,  that  these  are  inventions,  and  in  no  respect  different 
from  myths,  as  are  also  the  other  marvels  related  of  Jesus  ; 
which  objection  we  have  answered  at  greater  length  in  what 
has  gone  before.  But  there  is  also  something  mystical  in  this 
doctrine,  which  announces  that  the  varying  appearances  of 
Jesus  are  to  be  referred  to  the  nature  of  the  divine  Word,  who 
does  not  show  Himself  in  the  same  manner  to  the  multitude 
as  He  does  to  those  who  are  capable  of  following  Him  to  the 
high  mountain  which  we  have  mentioned  ;  for  to  those  who 
still  remain  below,  and  are  not  yet  prepared  to  ascend,  the 
/  Word  "  has  neither  form  nor  beauty,"  because  to  such  persons 
His  form  is  "  without  honour,"  and  inferior  to  the  words  given 
forth  by  men,  which  are  figuratively  termed  "  sons  of  men." 
For  we  might  say  that  the  words  of  philosophers — who  are 
"  sons  of  men  " — appear  far  more  beautiful  than  the  Word  of 
God,  who  is  proclaimed  to  the  multitude,  and  who  also  ex- 
hibits [what  is  called]  the  "  foolishness  of  preaching,"  and  on 
account  of  this  apparent  ''  foolishness  of  preaching  "  those  who 
look  at  this  alone  say,  "  We  saw  Him,  but  He  had  no  form 
nor  beauty."  To  those,  indeed,  who  have  received  power  to 
follow  Him,  in  order  that  they  may  attend  Him  even  when 
He  ascends  to  the  "lofty  mount,"  He  /tasa  diviner  appearance, 
/'  which  they  behold,  if  there  happens  to  be  [among  them]  a 
.'  Peter,  who  has  received  within  himself  the  edifice  of  the 
church  based  upon  the  Word,  and  who  has  gained  such 
a  habit  [of  goodness]  that  none  of  the  gates  of  Hades  will 
prevail  against  him,  having  been  exalted  by  the  Word  from  the 
gates  of  death,  that  he  may  "  publish  the  praises  of  God  in  the 
gates  of  the  daughter  of  Sion,"  and  any  others  who  have  derived 
their  birth  from  impressive  preaching,^  and  who  are  not  at  all 
inferior  to  "  sons  of  thunder."  But  how  can  Celsus  and  the 
enemies  of  the  divine  Word,  and  those  who  have  not  examined 


Book  vi.]  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  421 

the  doctrines  of  Christianity  in  tlie  spirit  of  truth,  know  tlie 
meaning  of  the  different  appearances  of  Jesus  ?  And  I  refer 
also  to  the  different  stages  of  His  life,  and  to  any  actions 
performed  by  Him  before  His  sufferings,  and  after  His  resur- 
rection from  the  dead. 

Chapter  lxxviii. 

Celsus  next  makes  certain  observations  of  the  following 
nature  :  "  Again,  if  God,  like  Jupiter  in  the  comedy,  should, 
on  awaking  from  a  lengthened  slumber,  desire  to  rescue  the 
human  race  from  evil,  why  did  He  send  this  Spirit  of  which  you 
speak  into  one  corner  [of  the  earth]  ?  He  ought  to  have 
breathed  it  alike  into  many  bodies,  and  have  sent  them  out 
into  all  the  world.  Now  the  comic  poet,  to  cause  laughter  in 
the  tlieatre,  wrote  that  Jupiter,  after  awakening,  despatched 
Mercury  to  the  Athenians  and  Lacedsemonians;  but  do  not 
you  think  that  you  have  made  the  Son  of  God  more  ridiculous 
in  sending  Him  to  the  Jews  1  "  Observe  in  such  language  as 
this  the  irreverent  character  of  Celsus,  who,  unlike  a  philo- 
sopher, takes  the  writer  of  a  comedy,  whose  business  is  to 
cause  laughter,  and  compares  our  God,  the  Creator  of  all 
things,  to  the  being  who,  as  represented  in  the  play,  on  awak- 
ing, despatches  Mercury  [on  an  errand]  !  We  stated,  indeed, 
in  what  precedes,  that  it  was  not  as  if  awakening  from  a 
lengthened  slmnber  that  God  sent  Jesus  to  the  human  race, 
who  has  now,  for  good  reasons,  fulfilled  the  economy  of  His 
incarnation,  but  who  has  always  conferred  benefits  upon  the 
human  race.  For  no  noble  deed  has  ever  been  performed 
amongst  men,  where  the  divine  Word  did  not  visit  tlie  souls  of 
j  those  who  were  capable,  although  for  a  little  time,  of  admitting 
such  operations  of  the  divine  Word.  Moreover,  the  advent  of 
Jesus  apparently  to  one  corner  [of  the  earth]  was  founded  on 
good  reasons,  since  it  was  necessary  that  He  who  was  the  sub- 
ject of  prophecy  should  make  His  appearance  among  those 
who  had  become  acquainted  with  the  doctrine  of  one  God,  and 
who  perused  the  writings  of  His  prophets,  and  who  had  come 
to  know  the  announcement  of  Christ,  and  that  He  should  come 
to  them  at  a  time  when  the  Word  was  about  to  be  diffused  from 
one  corner  over  the  whole  world. 


422  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

Chapter  lxxix. 

And  therefore  there  was  no  need  that  there  should  every- 
where exist  many  bodies,  and  many  spirits  like  Jesus,  in  order 
that  the  whole  world  of  men  might  be  enlightened  by  the  Word 
of  God.  For  the  one  Word  was  enough,  having  arisen  as  the 
"  Sun  of  righteousness,"  to  send  forth  from  Judea  His  coming 
rays  into  the  soul  of  all  who  were  willing  to  receive  Him.  But 
if  any  one  desires  to  see  many  bodies  filled  with  a  divine  Spirit, 
similar  to  the  one  Christ,  ministering  to  the  salvation  of  men 
everywhere,  let  him  take  note  of  those  who  teach  the  gospel  of 
Jesus  in  all  lands  in  soundness  of  doctrine  and  upi'ightness  of 
life,  and  who  are  themselves  termed  "  christs "  by  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  in  the  passage,  "  Touch  not  mine  anointed,^  and 
do  not  my  prophets  any  harm."  "  For  as  we  have  heard  that 
Antichrist  cometh,  and  yet  have  learned  that  there  are  many 
antichrists  in  the  world,  in  the  same  way,  knowing  that  Christ 
has  come,  we  see  that,  owing  to  Him,  there  are  many  christs 
in  the  world,  who,  like  Him,  have  loved  righteousness  and  hated 
iniquity,  and  therefore  God,  the  God  of  Christ,  anointed  them 
also  with  the  "  oil  of  gladness."  But  inasmuch  as  He  loved 
righteousness  and  hated  iniquity  above  those  who  were  His 
partners,^  He  also  obtained  the  first-fruits  of  His  anointing, 
and,  if  we  must  so  term  it,  the  entire  unction  of  the  oil  of  glad- 
ness ;  while  they  who  were  His  partners  shared  also  in  His 
unction,  in  proportion  to  their  individual  capacity.  Therefoi'e, 
since  Christ  is  the  head  of  the  church,  so  that  Christ  and  the 
church  form  one  body,  the  ointment  descended  from  the  head  to 
the  beard  of  Aaron, — the  symbols  of  the  perfect  man, — and  this 
ointment  in  its  descent  reached  tc  the  very  skirt  of  his  garment. 
This  is  my  answer  to  the  irreverent  language  of  Celsus  when 
he  says,  "  He  ought  to  have  breathed  [His  Spirit]  alike  into 
many  bodies,  and  have  sent  it  forth  into  all  the  world."  The 
comic  poet,  indeed,  to  cause  laughter,  has  represented  Jupiter 
asleep  and  awaking  from  slumber,  and  despatching  Mercury 
to  the  Greeks ;  but  the  Word,  knowing  that  the  nature  of  God 
is  unaffected  by  sleep,  may  teach  us  that  God  administers  in 

^  Toiv  xpKJroiu  fiov.  2  Cf.  1  Chrou.  xvi.  22  and  Ps.  cv.  15. 


Book  VI.]  OHIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  423 

due  season,  and  as  right  reason  demands,  the  affairs  of  the 
world.  It  is  not,  however,  a  matter  of  surprise  that,  owing  to 
the  greatness  and  incomprehensibihty^  of  the  divine  judgments, 
ignorant  persons  should  make  mistakes,  and  Celsus  among  them. 
There  is  therefore  nothing  ridiculous  in  the  Son  of  God  having 
been  sent  to  the  Jews,  amongst  whom  the  prophets  had  ap- 
peared, in  order  that,  making  a  commencement  among  them  in 
a  bodily  shape,  He  might  arise  with  might  and  power  npon  a 
world  of  souls,  which  no  longer  desired  to  remain  deserted 
by  God. 

Chapter  lxxx. 

After  this,  it  seemed  proper  to  Celsus  to  term  the  Chaldeans 
a  most  divinely-inspired  nation  from  the  very  earliest  times," 
from  whom  the  delusive  system  of  astrology^  has  spread  abroad 
among  men.  Nay,  he  ranks  the  Magi  also  in  the  same  cate- 
gory, from  whom  the  art  of  magic  derived  its  name  and  has 
been  transmitted  to  other  nations,  to  the  corruption  and  de- 
struction of  those  who  employ  it.  In  the  preceding  part  of 
this  work,  [we  mentioned]  that,  in  the  opinion  even  of  Celsus, 
the  Egyptians  also  were  guilty  of  error,  because  they  had  indeed 
soleriin  enclosures  around  what  they  considered  their  temples, 
while  within  them  there  was  nothing  save  apes,  or  crocodiles, 
or  goats,  or  asps,  or  some  other  animal ;  but  on  the  present 
occasion  it  pleases  him  to  speak  of  the  Egyptian  people  too  as 
most  divinely  inspired,  and  that,  too,  from  the  earliest  times, — 
perhaps  because  they  made  war  upon  the  Jews  from  an  early 

I  date.  The  Persians,  moreover,  who  marry  their  own  mothers, 
and  have  intercourse  with  their  own  daughters,  are,  in  the 
(  opinion  of  Celsus,  an  inspired  race ;  nay,  even  the  Indians  are 
so,  some  of  whom,  in  the  preceding,  he  mentioned  as  eaters  of 
human  flesh.  To  the  Jews,  however,  especially  those  of  ancient 
times,  who  employ  none  of  these  practices,  he  did  not  merely 
refuse  the  name  of  inspired,  but  declared  that  they  would  imme- 
diately perish.  And  this  prediction  he  uttered  respecting  them, 
as  being  doubtless  endued  with  prophetic  power,  not  observing 
that  the  whole  history  of  the  Jews,  and  their  ancient  and  vene- 
rable polity,  were  administered  by  God ;  and  that  it  is  by  their 

^  IvaOiYiy/iTOvg  rx;  Kpiaeig.  -  s|  dpx^S-  ^  yivid'hixMylx. 


424  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vi. 

fall  that  salvation  has  come  to  the  Gentiles,  and  that  "  their 
fall  is  the  riches  of  the  world,  and  the  dhninishing  of  them  the 
riches  of  the  Gentiles,"^  until  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  come, 
that  after  that  the  whole  of  Israel,  whom  Celsus  does  not  know, 
may  be  saved. 

Chapter  lxxxt. 

I  do  not  understand,  however,  how  he  should  say  of  God, 
that  although  "  knowing  all  things,  He  was  not  aware  of  this, 
that  He  was  sending  His  Son  amongst  wicked  men,  who  were 
both  to  be  guilty  of  sin,  and  to  inflict  punishment  upon  Him." 
Certainly  he  appears,  in  the  present  instance,  to  have  forgotten 
that  all  the  sufferings  which  Jesus  was  to  undergo  were  fore- 
seen by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  foretold  by  His  prophets  ;  from 
which  it  does  not  follow  that  "  God  did  not  know  that  He  was 
sending  His  Son  amongst  wicked  and  sinful  men,  who  were 
also  to  inflict  punishment  upon  Him."  He  immediately  adds, 
however,  that  "  our  defence  on  this  point  is  that  all  these  things 
were  predicted."  But  as  our  sixth  book  has  now  attained  suffi- 
cient dimensions,  we  shall  stop  here,  and  begin,  God  willing, 
the  argument  of  the  seventh,  in  which  we  shall  consider  the 
reasons  which  he  thinks  furnish  an  answer  to  our  statement, 
that  everything  regarding  Jesus  was  foretold  by  the  prophets  ; 
and  as  these  are  numerous,  and  require  to  be  answered  at 
length,  we  wished  neither  to  cut  the  subject  short,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  size  of  the  present  book,  nor,  in  order  to  avoid 
doing  so,  to  swell  this  sixth  book  beyond  its  proper  proportions. 
1  Cf.  Rom.  xi.  11,  12. 


BOOK   VII. 

Chapter  i. 

j{N  the  six  former  books  we  have  endeavoured,  reverend 
brother  Ambrosius,  according  to  our  ability  to  meet 
the  charges  brought  by  Celsus  against  the  Chris- 
tians, and  have  as  far  as  possible  passed  over  nothing 
without   first  subjecting  it  to  a  full  and   close   examination. 
^And  now,  while  we  enter  upon  the  seventh  book,  we  call  upon 
I  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  whom  Celsus  accuses,  that  He  who 
'  is  the  truth  of  God  would  shed  light  into  our  hearts  and  scatter 
the  darkness  of  error,  in  accordance  with  that  saying  of  the 
prophet  which  we  now  offer  as  our  prayer,  •'  Destroy  them  by 
Thy  truth."  ^     For  it  is  evidently  the  words  and  reasonings 
opposed  to  the  tvuth  that  God  destroys  by  His  truth ;  so  that 
when  these  are  destroyed,  all  who  are  delivered  from  deception 
may  go  on  with  the  prophet  to  say,  "  I  will  freely  sacrifice  unto 
Thee,"  '   and  may  offer  to  the  Most  High  a  reasonable   and 
smokeless  sacrifice. 

Chapter  ii. 

Celsus  now  sets  himself  to  combat  the  views  of  those  who  say 
that  the  Jewish  prophets  foretold  events  which  happened  in 
the  life  of  Christ  Jesus.  At  the  outset  let  us  refer  to  a  notion 
he  has,  that  those  who  assume  the  existence  of  another  God 
besides  the  God  of  the  Jews  have  no  ground  on  which  to  answer 
his  objections ;  while  we  who  recognise  the  same  God  rely  for 
our  defence  on  the  prophecies  Avhich  were  delivered  concerning 
Jesus  Christ.  His  words  are :  "  Let  us  see  how  they  can  raise 
a  defence.  To  those  who  admit  another  God,  no  defence  is 
possible ;  and  they  who  recognise  the  same  God  mIU  always 
fall  back  upon  the  same  reason,  '  This  and  that  must  have 
'  Ps.  liv.  5.  2  Ps.  liY.  6. 

425 


426  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vii. 

happened.'  And  why?  *  Because  it  had  been  predicted  long 
before.' "  To  this  we  answer,  that  the  arguments  recently 
raised  by  Celsus  against  Jesus  and  Christians  were  so  utterly 
feeble,  that  they  might  easily  be  overthrown  even  by  those  who 
are  hnpious  enough  to  bring  in  another  God.  Indeed,  were 
it  not  dangerous  to  give  to  the  weak  any  excuse  for  embracing 
false  notions,  we  could  furnish  the  answer  ourselves,  and  show 
Celsus  how  unfounded  is  his  opinion,  that  those  who  admit 
another  God  are  not  in  a  position  to  meet  his  arguments. 
However,  let  us  for  the  present  confine  ourselves  to  a  defence 
of  the  prophets,  in  continuation  of  what  we  have  said  on  the 
subject  before. 

Chapter  hi. 

Celsus  goes  on  to  say  of  us:  *'  They  set  no  value  on  the  oracles 
of  the  Pythian  priestess,  of  the  priests  of  Dodona,  of  Clarus,  of 
Branchidg3,  of  Jupiter  Ammon,  and  of  a  multitude  of  others  ; 
although  under  their  guidance  we  may  say  that  colonies  were 
sent  forth,  and  the  whole  world  peopled.  But  those  sayings 
which  were  uttered  or  not  uttered  in  Judea,  after  the  manner 
of  that  countr}',  as  indeed  they  are  still  delivered  among  the 
people  of  Phoenicia  and  Palestine — these  they  look  upon  as 
marvellous  sayings,  and  unchangeably  true."  In  regard  to  the 
oracles  here  enumerated,  we  reply  that  it  would  be  possible  for 
us  to  gather  from  the  writings  of  Aristotle  and  the  Peripatetic 
school  not  a  few  things  to  overthrow  the  authority  of  the 
Pythian  and  the  other  oracles.  From  Epicurus  also,  and  his 
followers,  we  could  quote  passages  to  show  that  even  among  the 
Greeks  themselves  there  were  some  who  utterly  discredited  the 
oracles  which  were  recognised  and  admired  throughout  the 
whole  of  Greece.  But  let  it  be  granted  that  the  responses 
delivered  by  the  Pythian  and  other  oracles  were  not  the  utter- 
ances of  false  men  who  pretended  to  a  divine  inspu'ation  ;  and 
let  us  see  if,  after  all,  we  cannot  convince  any  sincere  inquirers 
that  there  is  no  necessity  to  attribute  these  oracular  responses 
to  an}'^  divinities,  but  that,  on  the  other  hand,  they  may  be  traced 
to  wicked  demons — to  spirits  which  are  at  enmity  with  the 
human  race,  and  which  in  this  way  wish  to  hinder  the  soul 
from  rising  upwards,  from  following  the  path  of  virtue,  and 


Book  vii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  427 

from  returning  to  God  in  sincere  piety.  It  is  said  of  the 
Pythian  priestess,  whose  oracle  seems  to  have  been  the  most 
celebrated,  that  when  she  sat  down  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cas- 
talian  cave,  the  prophetic  spirit  of  Apollo  entered  her  private 
parts ;  and  when  she  was  filled  with  it,  she  gave  utterance  to 
responses  which  are  regarded  with  awe  as  divine  truths.  Judge 
by  tins  whether  that  spirit  does  not  show  its  profane  and 
impure  nature,  by  choosing  to  enter  the  soul  of  the  prophetess 
not  through  the  more  becoming  medium  of  the  bodily  pores 
which  are  both  open  and  invisible,  but  by  means  of  what  no 
modest  man  would  ever  see  or  speak  of.  And  this  occurs  not 
once  or  twice,  wliich  would  be  more  permissible,  but  as  often  as 
she  was  believed  to  receive  inspiration  from  Apollo.  Moreover, 
it  is  not  the  part  of  a  divine  spirit  to  drive  the  prophetess  into 
such  a  state  of  ecstasy  and  madness  that  she  loses  control  of 
herself.  For  he  who  is  under  the  influence  of  the  Divine 
Spirit  ought  to  be  the  first  to  receive  the  beneficial  effects ;  and 
these  ought  not  to  be  first  enjoyed  by  the  persons  who  consult 
the  oracle  about  the  concerns  of  natural  or  civil  life,  or  for  pur- 
poses of  temporal  gain  or  interest;  and,  moreover,  that  should 
be  the  time  of  clearest  perception,  when  a  person  is  in  close 
intercourse  with  the  Deity. 

Chapter  iy. 

Accordingly,  we  can  show  from  an  examination  of  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  that  the  Jewish  prophets,  who  were  enlightened  as 
far  as  was  necessary  for  their  prophetic  work  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  were  the  first  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  the  inspiration ;  and 
by  the  contact — if  I  may  so  say — of  the  Holy  Spirit  they  be/ 
came  clearer  in  mind,  and  their  souls  were  filled  with  a  brighter 
light.  And  the  body  no  longer  served  as  a  hindrance  to  a\ 
virtuous  life  ;  for  to  that  which  we  call  "  the  lust  of  the  flesh  "I 
it  was  deadened.  For  we  are  persuaded  that  the  Divine  Spirit 
"  mortifies  the  deeds  of  the  body,"  and  destroys  that  enmity 
against  God  which  the  carnal  passions  serve  to  excite.  If,  then 
the  Pythian  priestess  is  beside  herself  when  she  prophesies, 
what  spirit  must  that  be  which  fills  her  mind  and  clouds  her 
judgment  with  darkness,  unless  it  be  of  the  same  order  withi 
those   demons  which    many   Christians    cast   out   of   persons  \ 


428  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book:  vii. 

possessed  "vvith  them  ?  And  this,  we  may  observe,  they  do 
without  the  use  of  any  curious  arts  of  magic,  or  incantations, 
but  merely  by  prayer  and  simple  adjurations  which  the  plainest 
person  can  use.  Because  for  the  most  part  it  is  unlettered 
persons  who  perform  this  work ;  thus  making  manifest  the 
grace  which  is  in  the  word  of  Christ,  and  the  despicable  weak- 
ness of  demons,  which,  in  order  to  be  overcome  and  driven  out 
of  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men,  do  not  require  the  power  and 
wisdom  of  those  who  are  mighty  in  argument,  and  most  learned 
in  matters  of  faith. 

Chapter  v. 

Moreover,  if  it  is  believed  not  only  among  Christians  and 
Jews,  but  also  by  many  others  among  the  Greeks  and  barbarians, 
that  the  human  soul  lives  and  subsists  after  its  separation  from 
the  body  ;  and  if  reason  supports  the  idea  that  pure  souls  which 
are  not  weighed  down  with  sin  as  with  a  weight  of  lead  ascend 
on  high  to  the  region  of  purer  and  more  etherial  bodies,  leaving 
here  below  their  grosser  bodies  along  with  their  impurities  ; 
whereas  souls  that  are  polluted  and  dragged  down  to  the  earth 
by  their  sins,  so  that  they  are  unable  even  to  breathe  upwards, 
Avander  hither  and  thither,  at  some  times  about  sepulchres,  where 
they  appear  as  the  apparitions  of  shadowy  spirits,  at  others  among 
other  objects  on  the  ground; — if  this  is  so,  what  are  we  to  think 
of  those  spirits  that  are  attached  for  entire  ages,  as  I  may  say, 
to  particular  dwellings  and  places,  whether  by  a  sort  of  magical 
force  or  by  their  own  natural  wickedness  ?  Are  we  not  com- 
pelled by  reason  to  set  down  as  evil  such  spirits  as  employ  the 
power  of  prophesying — a  power  in  itself  neither  good  nor  bad — 
for  tlie  purpose  of  deceiving  men,  and  thus  turn  them  away 
from  God,  and  from  the  purity  of  His  service  ?  It  is  moreover 
evident  that  this  is  their  character,  when  we  add  that  they 
delight  in  the  blood  of  victims,  and  in  the  smoke  and  odour  of 
sacrifices,  and  that  they  feed  their  bodies  on  these,  and  that 
they  take  pleasure  in  such  haunts  as  these,  as  though  they 
sought  in  them  the  sustenance  of  their  lives ;  in  this  resem- 
bling those  depraved  men  who  despise  the  purity  of  a  life  apart 
from  the  senses,  and  who  have  no  inclination  except  for  the 
pleasures  of  the  body,  and  for  that  earthly  and  bodily  life  in 


Book  VII.]  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  429 

which  these  pleasures  are  found.  If  the  Delphian  Apollo  were 
a  god,  as  the  Greeks  suppose,  would  he  not  rather  have  chosen 
as  his  prophet  some  Avise  man  ?  or  if  such  an  one  was  not  to  be 
found,  then  one  who  was  endeavouring  to  become  wise  ?  How 
came  he  not  to  prefer  a  man  to  a  woman  for  the  utterance  of 
his  prophecies  ?  And  if  he  preferred  the  latter  sex,  as  though 
he  could  only  find  pleasure  in  the  breast  of  a  woman,  why  did 
he  not  choose  among  women  a  virgin  to  interpret  his  will  ? 

Chapter  vi. 

But  no  ;  the  Pythian,  so  much  admired  among  the  Greeks, 
judged  no  wise  man,  nay,  no  man  at  all,  worthy  of  the  divine 
possession,  as  they  call  it.  And  among  women  he  did  not 
choose  a  virgin,  or  one  recommended  by  her  wisdom,  or  by  her 
attainments  in  philosophy  ;  but  he  selects  a  common  woman. 
Perhaps  the  better  class  of  men  were  too  good  to  become  the 
subjects  of  the  inspiration.  Besides,  if  he  were  a  god,  he 
should  have  employed  his  prophetic  power  as  a  bait,  so  to  speak, 
with  which  he  might  draw  men  to  a  change  of  life,  and  to  the 
practice  of  virtue.  But  history  nowhere  makes  mention  of 
anything  of  the  kind.  For  if  the  oracle  did  call  Socrates  the 
wisest  of  all  men,  it  takes  from  the  value  of  that  eulogy  by  what 
is  said  in  regard  to  Euripides  and  Sophocles.  The  words  are : 
"  Sophocles  is  wise,  and  Euripides  is  wiser, 
But  wiser  than  all  men  is  Socrates."^ 
As,  then,  he  gives  the  designation  "wise"  to  the  tragic  poets,  it 
is  not  on  account  of  his  philosophy  that  he  holds  up  Socrates 
to  veneration,  or  because  of  his  love  of  truth  and  virtue.  It  is 
poor  praise  of  Socrates  to  say  that  he  prefers  him  to  men  who 
for  a  paltry  reward  compete  upon  the  stage,  and  who  by  their 
representations  excite  the  spectators  at  one  time  to  tears  and 
grief,  and  at  another  to  unseemly  laughter  (for  such  is  the  inten- 
tion of  the  satiric  drama).  And  perhaps  it  was  not  so  much 
in  regard  to  his  philosophy  that  he  called  Socrates  the  wisest 
of  all  men,  as  on  account  of  the  victims  which  he  sacrificed 
to  him  and  the  other  demons.  For  it  seems  that  the  demons 
pay  more  regard  in  distributing  their  favours  to  the  sacrifices 
which  are  offered  them  than  to  deeds  of  virtue.  Accordingly, 
^  Suidas  in  2o?'oV- 


430  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSVS.  [Book  vii. 

Homer,  the  best  of  the  poets,  who  describes  what  usually  took 
place,  when,  wishing  to  show  us  what  most  influenced  the 
demons  to  grant  an  answer  to  the  wishes  of  their  votaries, 
introduces  Chryses,  who,  for  a  few  garlands  and  the  thighs  of 
bulls  and  goats,  obtained  an  answer  to  his  prayers  for  his 
daughter  Chryseis,  so  that  the  Greeks  were  driven  by  a  pesti- 
lence to  restore  her  back  to  him.  And  I  remember  reading  in 
the  book  of  a  certain  Pythagorean,  when  writing  on  the  hidden 
meanings  in  that  poet,  that  the  prayer  of  Chryses  to  Apollo,  and 
the  plague  which  Apollo  afterwards  sent  upon  the  Greeks,  are 
proofs  that  Homer  knew  of  certain  evil  demons  who  delight 
in  the  smoke  of  sacrifices,  and  who,  to  reward  those  who  offer 
them,  grant  in  answer  to  their  prayers  the  destruction  of  others. 
"  He,"  that  is,  Jupiter,  "  who  rules  over  wintry  Dodona,  where 
his  prophets  have  ever  unwashed  feet,  and  sleep  upon  the 
ground,"^  has  rejected  the  male  sex,  and,  as  Celsus  observes, 
employs  the  women  of  Dodona  for  the  prophetic  office.  Grant- 
ing that  there  are  oracles  similar  to  these,  as  that  at  Clarus, 
another  in  Branchidee,  another  in  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Am- 
nion, or  anywhere  else ;  yet  how  shall  it  be  proved  that  these 
are  gods,  and  not  demons  ? 

ChAPTEK  VII. 

In  regard  to  the  prophets  among  the  Jews,  some  of  them 

I  were  wise  men  before  they  became  divinely  inspired  prophets, 

while  others  became  wise  by  the  illumination  which  their  minds 

received   when    divinely   inspired.       They  were   selected   by 

I  Divine  Providence  to  receive  the  Divine  Spirit,  and  to  be  the 

j  depositaries  of  His  holy  oracles,  on  the  ground  of  their  leading 

\  a   life  of  almost   unapproachable   excellence,  intrepid,   noble, 

'  unmoved  by  danger  or  death.     For  reason  teaches  that  such 

I  ought  to  be  the  character  of  the  prophets  of  the  Most  High,  in 

\  comparison  with  which  the  firmness  of    Antisthenes,  Crates, 

and  Diogenes  will  seem  but  as  child's  play.     It  was  therefore 

for  their  firm  adherence  to  truth,  and  their  faithfulness  in  the 

reproof  of  the   wicked,   that  they  were  "stoned;  they  were 

sawn  asunder,  were  tempted,  were  slain  with  the  sword ;  they 

wandered  about  in  sheepskins  and  goatskins,  being  destitute, 

^  Homer,  Iliad^  xvi.  231,  etc. 


Book  VII.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  431 

afflicted,  tormented ;  they  wandered  in  deserts  and  in  mountains, 
and  in  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth,  of  whom  the  world  was  not 
worthy :  "  ^  for  they  looked  always  to  God  and  to  His  blessings, 
which,  being  invisible,  and  not  to  be  perceived  by  the  senses,  arej 
eternal.  We  have  the  history  of  the  life  of  each  of  the  prophets; 
but  it  will  be  enough  at  present  to  direct  attention  to  the  life  of 
Moses,  whose  prophecies  are  contained  in  the  law ;  to  that  of 
Jeremiah,  as  it  is  given  in  the  book  which  bears  his  name;  to  , 
that  of  Isaiah,  who  with  unexampled  austerity  walked  naked  ana\  K 
barefooted  for  the  space  of  three  years.  Read  and  consider  the  / 
severe  life  of  those  children,  Daniel  and  his  companions,  how 
they  abstained  from  flesh,  and  lived  on  water  and  pulse.  Or 
if  you  will  go  back  to  more  remote  times,  think  of  the  life  of 
Noah,  who  prophesied ;  and  of  Isaac,  who  gave  his  son  a  pro- 
phetic blessing  ;  or  of  Jacob,  who  addressed  each  of  his  twelve 
sons,  beginning  with  '•  Come,  that  I  may  tell  you  what  shall 
befall  you  in  the  last  days."  These,  and  a  multitude  of  others, 
prophesying  on  behalf  of  God,  foretold  events  relating  to  Jesus 
Christ.  We  therefore  for  this  reason  set  at  nought  the  oracles 
of  the  Pythian  priestess,  or  those  delivered  at  Dodona,  at  Clarus, 
at  Branchidffi,  at  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Ammon,  or  by  a  multi- 
tude of  other  so-called  prophets  ;  whilst  we  regard  with  reverent 
awe  the  Jewish  prophets :  for  we  see  that  the  noble,  earnest, 
and  devout  lives  of  these  men  were  worthy  of  the  inspiration  of 
the  Divine  Spirit,  whose  wonderful  effects  were  widely  different 
from  the  divination  of  demons. 

Chapter  viii. 

I  do  not  know  what  led  Celsus,  when  saying,  "  But  what 
things  were  spoken  or  not  spoken  in  the  land  of  Judea,  accord- 
ing to  the  custom  of  the  country,"  to  use  the  words  "  or  not 
spoken,"  as  though  implying  that  he  was  incredulous,  and 
that  he  suspected  that  those  things  which  were  written  were 
never  spoken.  In  fact,  he  is  unacquainted  with  these  times  ; 
and  he  does  not  know  that  those  prophets  who  foretold  the  com- 
ing of  Christ,  predicted  a  multitude  of  other  events  many  years 
beforehand.  He  adds,  with  the  view  of  casting  a  slight  upon 
the  ancient  prophets,  that  "  they  prophesied  in  the  same  way 
1  Ileb.  xi,  37,  38. 


432  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vii. 

as  we  find  them  still  doing  among  the  inhabitants  of  PhcEnicia 
and  Palestine."  But  he  does  not  tell  us  whether  he  refers  to 
persons  who  are  of  different  principles  from  those  of  the  Jews 
and  Christians,  or  to  persons  whose  prophecies  are  of  the  same 
character  as  those  of  the  Jewish  prophets.  However  it  be,  his 
statement  is  false,  taken  in  either  way.  For  never  have  any 
of  those  who  have  not  embraced  our  faith  done  anything  ap- 
proaching to  what  was  done  by  the  ancient  prophets ;  and  in 
more  recent  times,  since  the  coming  of  Christ,  no  prophets 
have  arisen  among  the  Jews,  who  have  confessedly  been  aban- 
doned by  the  Holy  Spirit  on  account  of  their  impiety  towards 
God,  and  towards  Him  of  whom  their  prophets  spoke.  More- 
over, the  Holy  Spirit  gave  signs  of  His  presence  at  the  begin- 
ning of  Christ's  ministry,  and  after  His  ascension  He  gave 
still  more ;  but  since  that  time  these  sio-ns  have  diminished, 
although  there  are  still  traces  of  His  presence  in  a  few  who 
have  had  their  souls  purified  by  the  gospel,  and  their  actions 
regulated  by  its  influence.  "  For  the  holy  spirit  of  discipline 
will  flee  deceit,  and  remove  from  thoughts  that  are  without 
understanding."  ^ 

Chapxer  IX. 

But  as  Celsus  promises  to  give  an  account  of  the  manner 
in  which  prophecies  are  delivered  in  Phoenicia  and  Palestine, 
speaking  as  though  it  were  a  matter  with  which  he  had  a  full 
and  personal  acquaintance,  let  us  see  what  he  has  to  say  on  the 
subject.  First  he  lays  it  down  that  there  are  several  kinds  of 
})rophecies,  but  he  does  not  specify  what  they  are  ;  indeed,  he 
could  not  do  so,  and  the  statement  is  a  piece  of  pure  ostentation. 
However,  let  us  see  what  he  considers  the  most  perfect  kind  of 
prophecy  among  these  nations.  "  There  are  many,"  he  says, 
"  who,  although  of  no  name,  with  the  greatest  facility  and 
on  the  slightest  occasion,  whether  within  or  without  temples, 
assume  the  motions  and  gestures  of  inspired  persons ;  while 
others  do  it  in  cities  or  among  armies,  for  the  purpose  of 
attracting  attention  and  exciting  surprise.  These  are  accus- 
tomed to  say,  each  for  himself,  '  I  am  God ;  I  am  the  Son  of 
God  ;  or,  I  am  the  Divine  Spirit ;  I  have  come  because  the  world 
1  Wisd.  of  Sol.  i.  5. 


Book  vii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  433 

is  perishing,  and  you,  O  men,  arc  perishing  for  your  iniquities. 
But  I  wish  to  save  you,  and  you  shall  sec  me  returning  again 
with  heavenly  power.  Blessed  is  he  who  now  does  me  homage. 
On  all  the  rest  I  will  send  down  eternal  fire,  both  on  cities  and 
on  countries.  And  those  who  know  not  the  punishments  which 
await  them  shall  repent  and  grieve  in  vain  ;  while  those  who 
are  faithful  to  me  I  will  preserve  eternally.' "  Then  he  goes 
on  to  say:  "  To  these  promises  are  added  strange,  fanatical,  and 
quite  unintelligible  words,  of  which  no  rational  person  can  find 
the  meaning  :  for  so  dark  are  they,  as  to  have  no  meaning  at 
all ;  but  they  give  occasion  to  every  fool  or  impostor  to  apply 
them  to  auit  his  own  purposes." 

Chapter  x. 

But  if  he  were  dealing  honestly  in  his  accusations,  he  ought 
to  have  given  the  exact  terms  of  the  prophecies,  whether  those 
in  which  the  speaker  is  introduced  as  claiming  to  be  God 
Almighty,  or  those  in  which  the  Son  of  God  speaks,  or  finally 
those  under  the  name  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  For  thus  he  might 
have  endeavoured  to  overthrow  these  assertions,  and  have  shown 
that  there  was  no  divine  inspiration  in  those  words  which  urged 
men  to  forsake  their  sins,  which  condemned  the  past  and  fore- 
told the  future.  For  the  prophecies  were  recorded  and  preserved 
by  men  living  at  the  time,  that  those  who  came  after  might  read 
and  admire  them  as  the  oracles  of  God,  and  that  they  might 
profit  not  only  by  the  warnings  and  admonitions,  but  also  by  the 
predictions,  which  being  shown  by  events  to  have  proceeded 
from  tlie  Spirit  of  God,  bind  men  to  the  practice  of  piety  as  set 
forth  in  the  law  and  the  prophets.  The  prophets  have  therefore, 
as  God  commanded  them,  declared  with  all  plainness  those 
things  which  it  was  desirable  that  the  hearers  should  understand 
at  once  for  the  regulation  of  their  conduct ;  while  in  regard 
to  deeper  and  more  mysterious  subjects,  which  lay  beyond 
the  reach  of  the  common  understanding,  they  set  them  forth 
in  the  form  of  enigmas  and  allegories,  or  of  what  are  called 
dark  sayings,  parables,  or  similitudes.  And  this  plan  they  have 
followed,  that  those  who  are  ready  to  shun  no  labour  and  spare 
no  pains  in  their  endeavours  after  truth  and  virtue  might  search 
into  their  meaning,  and  having  found  it,  might  apply  it  as  reason 

ORIG. — VOL.  II.  2  E 


434  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vir. 

requires.  But  Celsus,  ever  vigorous  in  his  denunciations,  as 
though  he  were  angry  at  his  inabihty  to  understand  the  lan- 
guage of  the  prophets,  scoffs  at  them  thus :  "  To  these  grand 
promises  are  added  strange,  fanatical,  and  quite  unintelligible 
words,  of  which  no  rational  person  can  find  the  meaning ;  for 
so  dark  are  they  as  to  have  no  meaning  at  all ;  but  they  give 
occasion  to  every  fool  or  impostor  to  apply  them  so  as  to  suit 
his  own  purposes."  This  statement  of  Celsus  seems  ingeniously 
designed  to  dissuade  readers  from  attempting  any  inquiry  or 
careful  search  into  their  meaning.  And  in  this  he  is  not  unlike 
certain  persons,  who  said  to  a  man  whom  a  prophet  had  visited 
to  announce  future  events,  "  AVherefore  came  this  mad  fellow 
to  thee  ?  "  ' 

Chapter  xi. 

I  am  convinced,  indeed,  that  much  better  arguments  could  be 
adduced  than  any  I  have  been  able  to  bring  forward,  to  show 
the  falsehood  of  these  allegations  of  Celsus,  and  to  set  forth  the 
divine  inspiration  of  the  prophecies  ;  but  we  have  according  to 
our  ability,  in  our  commentaries  on  Isaiah,  Ezekiel,  and  some 
of  the  twelve  minor  prophets,  explained  literally  and  in  detail 
what  he  calls  "  those  fanatical  and  utterly  unintelligible 
passages."  And  if  God  give  us  grace  in  the  time  that  He 
appoints  for  us,  to  advance  in  the  knowledge  of  His  word,  we 
shall  continue  our  investigation  into  the  parts  which  remain,  or 
into  such  at  least  as  we  are  able  to  make  plain.  And  other 
persons  of  intelligence  who  wish  to  study  Scripture  may  also 
find  out  its  meaning  for  themselves ;  for  although  there  are 
many  places  in  which  the  meaning  is  not  obvious,  yet  there 
are  none  where,  as  Celsus  affirms,  "  there  is  no  sense  at  all." 
Neither  is  it  true  that  "  any  fool  or  impostor  can  explain  the 
passages  so  as  to  make  them  suit  his  own  purposes."'  For  it 
belongs  only  to  those  who  are  wise  in  the  truth  of  Christ  (and 
to  all  them  it  does  belong)  to  unfold  the  connection  and  mean- 
ing of  even  the  obscure  parts  of  prophecy,  "  comparing  spiritual 
things  with  spiritual,"  and  interpreting  each  passage  according 
to  the  usage  of  Scripture  writers.  And  Celsus  is  not  to  be 
believed  when  he  says  that  he  has  heard  such  men  prophesy : 
*  2  Kings  ix.  11. 


Book  vii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  435 

for  no  prophets  bearing  any  resemblance  to  the  ancient  pro- 
phets have  appeared  in  the  time  of  Celsus.  If  there  had  been 
any,  those  who  heard  and  admired  them  would  have  followed 
the  example  of  the  ancients,  and  have  recorded  the  prophecies 
in  writing.  And  it  seems  quite  clear  that  Celsus  is  speaking 
falsely,  when  he  says  that  "  those  prophets  whom  he  had  heard, 
on  being  pressed  by  him,  confessed  their  true  motives,  and 
acknowledged  that  the  ambiguous  words  they  used  really  meant 
nothing."  He  ought  to  have  given  the  names  of  those  whom 
he  says  he  had  heard,  if  he  had  any  to  give,  so  that  those  who 
were  competent  to  judge  might  decide  whether  his  allegations 
were  true  or  false. 

Chapter  xii. 

Pie  thinks,  besides,  that  those  who  support  the  cause  of  Christ 
by  a  reference  to  the  writings  of  the  prophets  can  give  no 
proper  answer  in  regard  to  statements  in  them  which  attribute 
to  God  that  which  is  wicked,  shameful,  or  impure ;  and  assum- 
ing that  no  answer  can  be  given,  he  proceeds  to  draw  a  whole 
train  of  inferences,  none  of  which  can  be  allowed.  But  he 
ought  to  know  that  those  who  wish  to  live  according  to  the 
teaching  of  sacred  Scripture  understand  the  saying,  "The 
knowledge  of  the  unwise  is  as  talk  without  sense,"' ^  and  have 
learnt  "to  be  ready  always  to  give  an  answer  to  every  one 
that  asketh  us  a  reason  for  the  hope  that  is  in  us.'"^  And  they 
are  not  satisfied  with  affirming  that  such  and  such  things  have 
been  predicted ;  but  they  endeavour  to  remove  any  apparent 
inconsistencies,  and  to  show  that,  so  far  from  there  being  any- 
thing evil,  shameful,  or  impure  in  these  predictions,  everything 
is  worthy  of  being  received  by  those  who  understand  the  sacred 
Scriptures.  But  Celsus  ought  to  have  adduced  from  the  pro- 
phets examples  of  what  he  thought  bad,  or  shameful,  or  impure, 
if  he  saw  any  such  passages ;  for  then  his  argument  would 
have  had  much  more  force,  and  would  have  furthered  his  pur- 
pose much  better.  He  gives  no  instances,  however,  but  con- 
tents himself  with  loudly  asserting  the  false  charge  that  these 
things  are  to  be  found  in  Scripture.  There  is  no  reason,  then, 
for  us  to  defend  ourselves  against  groundless  charges,  which 
1  Ecclus.  xxi.  18.  2  I  Pet.  iii.  15. 


436  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vii. 

are  but  empty  sounds,  or  to  take  the  trouble  of  showing  that 
in  the  writings  of  the  prophets  there  is  nothing  evil,  shameful, 
impure,  or  abominable. 

Chapter  xiii. 

And  there  is  no  truth  in  the  statement  of  Celsus,  that  ''  God 
does  the  most  shameless  deeds,  or  suffers  the  most  shameless 
sufferings,"  or  that  "  He  favours  the  commission  of  evil ;"  for 
whatever  he  may  say,  no  such  things  have  ever  been  foretold. 
He  ought  to  have  cited  from  the  prophets  the  passages  in  which 
God  is  represented  as  favouring  evil,  or  as  doing  and  enduring 
the  most  shameless  deeds,  and  not  have  sought  without  founda- 
tion to  prejudice  the  minds  of  his  readers.  The  prophets,  indeed, 
foretold  what  Christ  should  suffer,  and  set  forth  the  reason  why 
He  should  suffer.  God  therefore  also  knew  what  Christ  would 
suffer;  but  where  has  he  learnt  that  those  things  which  the 
Christ  of  God  should  suffer  were  most  base  and  dishonourable  ? 
He  goes  on  to  explain  what  those  most  shameful  and  degrading 
things  were  which  Christ  suffered,  in  these  words :  "  For  what 
better  Avas  it  for  God  to  eat  the  flesh  of  sheep,  or  to  drink 
vinegar  and  gall,  than  to  feed  on  filth?"  But  God,  according 
to  us,  did  not  eat  the  flesh  of  sheep  ;  and  while  it  may  seem  that 
Jesus  ate.  He  did  so  only  as  possessing  a  body.  But  in  regard 
to  the  vinegar  and  gall  mentioned  in  the  prophecy,  "  They 
gave  me  also  gall  for  my  meat,  and  in  my  thirst  they  gave  me 
vinegar  to  drink,"  ^  we  have  already  referred"  to  this  point ;  and 
as  Celsus  compels  us  to  recur  to  it  again,  we  would  only  say 
further,  that  those  who  resist  the  word  of  truth  do  ever  offer 
to  Christ  the  Son  of  God  the  gall  of  their  own  wickedness,  and 
the  vinegar  of  their  evil  inclinations ;  but  though  He  tastes  of 
it,  yet  He  will  not  drink  it. 

Chapter  xiv. 

In  the  next  place,  wishing  to  shake  the  faith  of  those  who 
believe  in  Jesus  on  the  ground  of  the  prophecies  which  were 
delivered  in  regard  to  Him,  Celsus  says :  "  But  pray,  if  the 
prophets  foretold  that  the  great  God  —  not  to  put  it  more 
harshly — would  become  a  slave,  or  become  sick,  or  die  ;  would 
1  Ps.  Ixix.  21.  2  Book  ii.  chap.  37. 


Book  VII.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  437 

there  be  therefore  any  necessity  that  God  should  die,  or  suffer 
sickness,  or  become  a  slave,  simply  because  such  things  had 
been  foretold?  Must  he  die  in  order  to  prove  his  divinity? 
But  the  prophets  never  would  utter  predictions  so  wicked  and 
impious.  We  need  not  therefore  inquire  whether  a  thing  has 
been  predicted  or  not,  but  whether  the  thing  is  honourable  in 
itself,  and  worthy  of  God.  In  that  which  is  evil  and  base, 
although  it  seemed  that  all  men  in  the  world  had  foretold  it  in 
a  fit  of  madness,  we  must  not  believe.  How  then  can  the  pious 
mind  admit  that  those  things  which  are  said  to  have  happened 
to  him,  could  have  happened  to  one  who  is  God  ? "  From  this 
it  is  plain  that  Celsus  feels  the  argument  from  prophecy  to  be 
very  effective  for  convincing  those  to  whom  Christ  is  preached  ; 
but  he  seems  to  endeavour  to  overthrow  it  by  an  opposite  pro- 
bability, namely,  ''that  the  question  is  not  whether  the  prophets 
uttered  these  predictions  or  not."  But  if  he  wished  to  reason 
justly  and  without  evasion,  he  ought  rather  to  have  said,  "  We 
must  show  that  these  things  were  never  predicted,  or  that  those 
things  which  were  predicted  of  Christ  have  never  been  fulfilled 
in  him,"  and  in  that  way  he  would  have  established  the  posi- 
tion which  he  holds.  In  that  way  it  would  have  been  made 
plain  what  those  prophecies  are  which  we  apply  to  Jesus,  and 
how  Celsus  could  justify  himself  in  asserting  that  that  appli- 
cation was  false.  And  we  should  thus  have  seen  whether  he 
fairly  disproved  all  that  we  bring  from  the  prophets  in  behalf 
of  Jesus,  or  whether  he  is  himself  convicted  of  a  shameless 
endeavour  to  resist  the  plainest  truths  by  violent  assertions. 

Chapter  xv. 

After  assuming  that  some  things  were  foretold  which  are 
impossible  in  themselves,  and  inconsistent  with  the  character 
of  God,  he  says  :  "  If  these  things  were  predicted  of  the  Most 
High  God,  are  we  bound  to  believe  them  of  God  simply  be- 
cause they  were  predicted  ?  "  And  thus  he  thinks  he  proves, 
that  although  the  prophets  may  have  foretold  truly  such  things 
of  the  Son  of  God,  yet  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  believe  in  those 
prophecies  declaring  that  He  would  do  or  suffer  such  things. 
To  this  our  answer  is  that  the  supposition  is  absurd,  for  it  com- 
bines two  lines  of  reasoning  which  are  opposed  to  each  other,  and 


•138  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vii. 

therefore  mutually  destructive.  This  may  be  shown  as  follows. 
The  one  argument  is :  "  If  any  true  prophets  of  the  Most 
High  say  that  God  will  become  a  slave,  or  suffer  sickness,  or 
die,  these  things  will  come  to  God ;  for  it  is  impossible  that  the 
prophets  of  the  great  God  should  utter  lies."  The  other  is  : 
"  If  even  true  prophets  of  the  Most  High  God  say  that  these 
same  things  shall  come  to  pass,  seeing  that  these  things  fore- 
told are  by  the  nature  of  things  impossible,  the  prophecies  are 
not  true,  and  therefore  those  things  which  have  been  foretold 
will  not  happen  to  God."  When,  then,  we  find  two  processes 
of  reasoning  in  both  of  which  the  major  premiss  is  the  same, 
leading  to  tAvo  contradictory  conclusions,  we  use  the  form  of 
argument  called  "the  theorem  of  two  propositions,"^  to  prove 
that  the  major  premiss  is  false,  which  in  the  case  before  us  is 
this,  "  that  the  prophets  have  foretold  that  the  great  God  should 
become  a  slave,  suffer  sickness,  or  die."  We  conclude,  then,  that 
the  prophets  never  foretold  such  things ;  and  the  argument  is 
formally  expressed  as  follows  :  1st,  Of  two  things,  if  the  first 
is  true,  the  second  is  true  ;  2c?,  if  the  first  is  ^  true,  the  second  is 
not  true,  therefore  the  first  is  not  true.  The  concrete  example 
which  the  Stoics  give  to  illustrate  this  form  of  argument  is  the 
following  :  1st,  If  you  know  that  you  are  dead,  you  are  dead ; 
2d,  if  you  know  that  you  are  dead,  you  are  not  dead.  And  the 
conclusion  is — "  you  do  not  know  that  you  are  dead."  These 
propositions  are  worked  out  as  follows :  If  you  know  that  you 
are  dead,  that  which  you  know  is  certain  ;  therefore  you  are 
dead.  Again,  if  you  know  that  you  are  dead,  your  death  is  ^ 
an  object  of  knowledge ;  but  as  the  dead  know  nothing,  your,/^ 
knowing  this  proves  that  you  are  not  dead.  Accordingly,  by 
joining  the  two  arguments  together,  you  arrive  at  the  con- 
clusion— "  you  do  not  know  that  you  are  dead."  Now  the 
hypothesis  of  Celsus  which  we  have  given  above  is  much  of  the 
same  kind. 

Chapter  xvi. 
But  besides,  the  prophecies  which  he  introduces  into  his  argu- 

■^  Ota,  ovo  rpoviKOJV  decip'/j/nx. 

^  We  follow  Bouhereau  and  Valesius,  who  expunge  the  negative  particle 
iQ  this  clause. 


Book  vii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  439 

ment  are  very  different  from  what  the  prophets  actually  foretold 
of  Jesus  Christ.  For  the  prophecies  do  not  foretell  that  God 
will  be  crucified,  when  they  say  of  Plim  who  should  suffer,  "  We 
beheld  Him,  and  He  had  no  form  or  comeliness ;  but  His  form 
was  dishonoured  and  marred  more  than  the  sons  of  men  ;  He 
was  a  man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief."  ^  Observe, 
then,  how  distinctly  they  say  that  it  was  a  man  who  should 
endure  these  human  sufferings.  And  Jesus  Himself,  who  knew 
perfectly  that  one  who  was  to  die  must  be  a  man,  said  to  His 
accusers:  '^  But  now  ye  seek  to  kill  me,  a  man  that  hath  spoken 
unto  you  the  truth  which  I  heard  of  God." "  And  if  in  that 
man  as  He  appeared  among  men  there  was  something  divine, 
namely  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God,  the  first-born  of  all 
creation,  one  who  said  of  Himself,  "  I  am  the  truth,"  "  I  am 
the  life,"  "  I  am  the  door,"  ''  I  am  the  way,"  "  I  am  the  living 
bread  which  came  down  from  heaven,"  of  this  Being  and  His 
nature  we  must  judge  and  reason  in  a  way  quite  different  from 
that  in  which  we  judge  of  the  man  who  was  seen  in  Jesus 
Christ.  Accordingly,  you  will  find  no  Christian,  however 
simple  he  may  be,  and  however  little  versed  in  critical  studies, 
who  would  say  that  He  who  died  was  "  the  truth,"  "  the  life," 
"  the  way,'*  "  the  living  bread  which  came  down  from  heaven," 
"  the  resurrection  ; "  for  it  was  He  who  appeared  to  us  in  the 
form  of  the  man  Jesus,  who  taught  us,  saying,  "  I  am  the  re- 
surrection." There  is  no  one  amongst  us,  I  say,  so  extravagant 
as  to  affirm  "  the  Life  died,"  "  the  Eesurrection  died."  The 
supposition  of  Celsus  would  have  some  foundation  if  we  were 
to  say  that  it  had  been  foretold  by  the  prophets  that  death  would 
befall  God  the  Word,  the  Truth,  the  Life,  the  Resurrection,  or 
any  other  name  which  is  assumed  by  the  Son  of  God. 

Chapter  xvii. 

In  one  point  alone  is  Celsus  correct  in  his  statements  on  this 
subject.  It  is  that  in  which  he  says:  "The  prophets  would 
not  foretell  this,  because  it  involves  that  which  is  wicked  and 
impious," — namely,  that  the  great  God  should  become  a  slave 
or  suffer  death.  But  that  which  is  predicted  by  the  prophets 
is  worthy  of  God,  that  He  who  is  the  brightness  and  express 
1  Isa.  liii.  2,  3.  2  John  viii.  40. 


440  OltlGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vii. 

image  of  the  divine  nature  should  come  into  the  world  with  the 
holy  human  soul  which  was  to  animate  the  body  of  Jesus,  to  sow 
the  seed  of  His  word,  which  might  bring  all  who  received  and 
cherished  it  into  union  with  the  Most  High  God,  and  which 
would  lead  to  perfect  blessedness  all  those  who  felt  within 
them  the  power  of  God  the  Word,  who  was  to  be  in  the  body  and 
soul  of  a  man.  He  was  to  be  in  it  indeed,  but  not  in  such  a 
wav  as  to  confine  therein  all  the  rays  of  His  glory  ;  and  we  are 
not  to  suppose  that  the  light  of  Him  who  is  God  the  Word  is 
shed  forth  in  no  other  way  than  in  this.  If,  tlien,  we  consider 
Jesus  in  relation  to  the  divinity  that  was  in  Him,  the  things 
which  He  did  in  this  capacity  present  nothing  to  offend  our 
ideas  of  God,  nothing  but  what  is  holy ;  and  if  we  consider 
Him  as  rnan,  distinguished  beyond  all  other  men  by  an  intimate 
communion  with  the  Eternal  Word,  with  absolute  Wisdom,  He 
suffered  as  one  who  was  wise  and  perfect,  whatever  it  behoved 
Him  to  suffer  who  did  all  for  the  good  of  the  human  race,  yea, 
even  for  the  good  of  all  intelligent  beings.  And  there  is  nothing 
absurd  in  a  man  having  died,  and  in  His  death  being  not  only 
an  example  of  death  endured  for  the  sake  of  piety,  but  also 
the  first  blow  in  the  conflict  which  is  to  overthrow  the  power 
of  that  evil  spirit  the  devil,  who  had  obtained  dominion  over 
the  whole  world.  For  we  have  signs  and  pledges  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  his  empire,  in  those  who  through  the  coming  of  Christ 
are  everywhere  escaping  from  the  power  of  demons,  and  who, 
after  their  deliverance  from  this  bondage  in  which  they  were 
held,  consecrate  themselves  to  God,  and  earnestly  devote  them- 
selves day  by  day  to  advancement  in  a  life  of  piety. 

Chapter  xviii. 

Celsus  adds  :  "  Will  they  not  besides  make  this  reflection  ? 
If  the  prophets  of  the  God  of  the  Jews  foretold  that  he  who 
should  come  into  the  world  would  be  the  Son  of  this  same  God, 
how  could  he  command  them  through  Moses  to  gather  wealth, 
to  extend  their  dominion,  to  fill  the  earth,  to  put  their  enemies 
of  every  age  to  the  sword,  and  to  destroy  them  utterly,  which 
indeed  he  himself  did — as  Moses  says — threatening  them, 
moreover,  that  if  they  did  not  obey  his  commands,  he  would 
treat  them  as  his  avowed  enemies ;  whilst,  on  the  other  hand, 


Book  VII.]  OIUGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  441 

his  Son,  the  man  of  Nazareth,  promulgated  laws  quite  opposed 
to  these,  declaring  that  no  one  can  come  to  the  Father  who 
loves  power,  or  riches,  or  glory ;  that  men  ought  not  to  be  more 
careful  in  providing  food  than  the  ravens ;  that  they  were  to 
be  less  concerned  about  their  raiment  than  the  lilies ;  that  to 
him  who  has  given  them  one  blow,  they  should  offer  to  receive 
another?  Whether  is  it  Moses  or  Jesus  who  teaches  falsely? 
Did  the  Father,  when  he  sent  Jesus,  forget  the  commands 
which  he  had  given  to  Moses  ?  Or  did  he  change  his  mind, 
condemn  his  own  laws,  and  send  forth  a  messenger  with 
counter  instructions  ?  "  Celsus,  with  all  his  boasts  of  universal 
knowledge,  has  here  fallen  into  the  most  vulgar  of  errors,  in 
supposing  that  in  the  law  and  the  prophets  there  is  not  a 
meaning  deeper  than  that  afforded  by  a  literal  rendering  of  the 
words.  He  does  not  see  how  manifestly  incredible  it  is  that 
worldly  riches  should  be  promised  to  those  who  lead  upright 
lives,  when  iiLis^ajJEiatter  of  common  observation  that  the  best 
of  men  have  lived  in  extreme  poverty.  Indeed,  the  prophets 
themselves,  who  for  the  purity  of  their  lives  received  the  Divine 
Spirit,  "wandered  about  in  sheepskins  and  goatskins;  being 
destitute,  afflicted,  tormented  :  they  wandered  in  deserts,  and 
in  mountains,  and  in  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth."  ^  For,  as 
the  Psalmist  says,  "  many  are  the  afflictions  of  the  righteous,"^ 
If  Celsus  had  read  the  writings  of  Moses,  he  would,  I  daresay, 
have  supposed  that  when  it  is  said  to  him  who  kept  the  law, 
"  Thou  shalt  lend  unto  many  nations,  and  thou  thyself  shalt 
not  borrow,"^  the  promise  is  made  to  the  just  man,  that  his 
temporal  riches  should  be  so  abundant,  that  he  would  be  able  to 
lend  not  only  to  the  Jews,  not  only  to  two  or  three  nations,  but 
"  to  many  nations."  What,  then,  must  have  been  the  wealth 
which  the  just  man  received  according  to  the  law  for  his 
righteousness,  if  he  could  lend  to  many  nations  ?  And  must 
•we  not  suppose  also,  in  accordance  with  this  interpretation, 
that  the  just  man  would  never  borrow  anything?  For  it  is 
written,  "  and  thou  shalt  thyself  borrow  nothing."  Did  then 
that  nation  remain  for  so  long  a  period  attached  to  the  religion 
which  was  taught  by  Moses,  whilst,  according  to  the  supposi- 
tion of  Celsus,  they  saw  themselves  so  grievously  deceived  by 
1  Heb.  xi.  37,  S8.  2  pg.  xsxiv.  19.  s  Dgut.  xxviii.  12.    • 


442  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vii. 

that  lawgiver  ?  For  nowhere  is  it  said  of  any  one  that  he 
was  so  rich  as  to  lend  to  many  nations.  It  is  not  to  be  be- 
lieved that  they  would  have  fought  so  zealously  in  defence  of 
a  law  whose  promises  had  proved  glaringly  false,  if  they  under- 
stood them  in  the  sense  which  Celsus  gives  to  them.  And  if 
any  one  should  say  that  the  sins  which  are  recorded  to  have 
been  committed  by  the  people  are  a  proof  that  they  despised 
the  law,  doubtless  from  the  feeling  that  they  had  been  deceived 
by  it,  we  may  reply  that  we  have  only  to  read  the  history  of 
the  times  in  order  to  find  it  shown  that  the  whole  people,  after 
having  done  that  which  was  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord, 
returned  afterwards  to  their  duty,  and  to  the  religion  prescribed 
by  the  law. 

Chapter  xix. 

Now  if  these  words  in  the  law,  "  Thou  shalt  have  dominion 
over  many  nations,  and  no  one  shall  rule  over  thee,"  were 
simply  a  promise  to  them  of  dominion,  and  if  they  contain  no 
deeper  meaning  than  this,  then  it  is  certain  that  the  people 
would  have  had  still  stronger  grounds  for  despising  the  promises 
of  the  law.  Celsus  brings  forward  another  passage,  although 
he  changes  the  terms  of  it,  where  it  is  said  that  the  whole 
;  earth  shall  be  filled  with  the  Hebrew  race ;  which  indeed, 
V  according  to  the  testimony  of  histor}',  did  actually  happen  after 
the  coming  of  Christ,  although  rather  as  a  result  of  God's 
anger,  if  I  may  so  say,  than  of  His  blessing.  As  to  the  pro- 
mise made  to  the  Jews  that  they  should  slay  their  enemies,  it 
may  be  answered  that  any  one  who  examines  carefully  into  the 
meaning  of  this  passage  will  find  himself  unable  to  interpret  it 
literally.  It  is  sufficient  at  present  to  refer  to  the  manner  in 
which  in  the  Psalms  the  just  man  is  represented  as  saying, 
among  other  things,  "  Every  morning  will  I  destroy  the  wicked 
of  the  land,  that  I  may  cut  off  all  workers  of  iniquity  from  the 
city  of  Jehovah."^  Judge,  then,  from  the  words  and  spirit  of 
the  speaker,  whether  it  is  conceivable  that,  after  having  in 
the  preceding  part  of  the  Psalm,  as  any  one  may  read  for 
himself,  uttered  the  noblest  thoughts  and  purposes,  he  should 
in  the  sequel,  according  to  the  literal  rendering  of  his  words, 

1  Ps.  ci.  9. 


Book  vii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  413 

say  that  in  the  morning,  and  at  no  other  period  of  the  day,  he 
would  destroy  all  sinners  from  the  earth,  and  leave  none  of 
them  alive,  and  that  he  would  slay  every  one  in  Jerusalem  who 
did  iniquity.  x\.nd  there  are  many  similar  expressions  to  be 
found  in  the  law,  as  this,  for  example  :  "  We  left  not  anything 
alive."' 

Chapter  xx. 

Celsus  adds,  that  it  was  foretold  to  the  Jews,  that  if  they  did 
not  obey  the  law,  they  would  be  treated  in  the  same  way  as 
they  treated  their  enemies ;  and  then  he  quotes  from  the  teach- 
ing of  Christ  some  precepts  which  he  considers  contrary  to 
those  of  the  law,  and  uses  that  as  an  argument  against  us. 
But  before  proceeding  to  this  point,  we  must  speak  of  that 
'which  precedes.  We  hold,  then,  that  the  law  has  a  twofold 
.sense,  —  the  one  literal,  the  other  spiritual,  —  as  has  been 
'shown  by  some  before  us.  Of  the  first  or  literal  sense  it  is 
said,  not  by  us,  but  by  God,  speaking  in  one  of  the  prophets, 
that  "  the  statutes  are  not  good,  and  the  judgments  not  good  ;"^ 
whereas,  taken  in  a  spiritual  sense,  the  same  prophet  makes 
God  say  that  "  His  statutes  are  good,  and  His  judgments 
good."  Yet  evidently  the  prophet  is  not  saying  things  which 
are  contradictory  of  each  other.  Paul  in  like  manner  says, 
that  ".the  letter  killeth,  and  the  spirit  giveth  life,"'^  meaning  by 
"the  letter"  the  literal  sense,  and  by  "  the  spirit"  the  spiritual 
sense  of  Scripture.  We  may  therefore  find  in  Paul,  as  well 
as  in  the  prophet,  apparent  contradictions.  Indeed,  if  Ezekiel 
says  in  one  place,  '■'•  I  gave  them  commandments  which  were 
not  good,  and  judgments  whereby  they  should  not  live,"  and 
in  another,  "  I  gave  them  good  commandments  and  judg- 
ments, which  if  a  man  shall  do,  he  shall  live  by  them,"  Paul 
in  like  manner,  when  he  wishes  to  disparage  the  law  taken 
literally,  says,  "  If  the  ministration  of  death,  written  and  en- 
graven in  stones,  was  glorious,  so  that  the  children  of  Israel 
could  not  stedfastly  behold  the  face  of  Moses  for  the  glory  of 
his  countenance,  which  glory  was  to  be  done  away,  how  shall 
not  the  ministration  of  the  Spirit  be  rather  glorious?"^     But 

1  Deut.  ii.  34.  2  gzek.  xx.  25. 

8  2  Cor.  iii.  6.  ^  2  Cor.  iii.  7,  8. 


444  OniGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vii. 

when  in  another  place  he  wishes  to  praise  and  recommend  the 
]aw,  he  calls  it  "spiritual,"  and  says,  "We  know  that  the  law 
is  spiritual ; "  and,  "  Wherefore  the  law  is  holy,  and  the  com- 
mandment holy,  and  just,  and  good."^ 

Chapter  xxi. 

When,  then,  the  letter  of  the  law  promises  riches  to  the  just, 
Celsus  may  follow  the  letter  which  killeth,  and  understand  it 
of  worldly  riches,  which  blind  men  ;  but  we  say  that  it  refers  to 
those  riches  which  enlighten  the  eyes,  and  which  enrich  a  man 
"in  all  utterance  and  in  all  knowledge."  And  in  this  sense 
we  "  charge  them  that  are  rich  in  this  world,  that  they  be  not 
high-minded,  nor  trust  in  uncertain  riches,  but  in  the  living 
God,  who  giveth  us  richly  all  things  to  enjoy ;  that  they  do 
good,  that  they  be  rich  in  good  works,  ready  to  distribute,  will- 
ing to  communicate." ""  For,  as  Solomon  says,  "  riches"  are 
the  true  good,  which  "  are  the  ransom  of  the  life  of  a  man  ;" 
but  the  poverty  which  is  the  opposite  of  these  riches  is  destruc- 
tive, for  by  it  "  the  poor  cannot  bear  rebuke."  "  And  what  has 
been  said  of  riches  applies  to  dominion,  in  regard  to  which 
it  is  said,  "  The  just  man  shall  chase  a  thousand,  and  two 
put  ten  thousand  to  flight."^  Now  if  riches  are  to  be  taken 
in  the  sense  we  have  just  explained,  consider  if  it  is  not 
according  to  God's  promise  that  he  who  is  rich  in  all  utter- 
ance, in  all  knowledge,  in  all  wisdom,  in  all  good  works,  may 
not  out  of  these  treasures  of  utterance,  of  wisdom,  and  of 
knowledge,  lend  to  many  nations.  It  was  thus  that  Paul  lent 
to  all  the  nations  that  he  visited,  "carrying  the  gospel  of 
Christ  from  Jerusalem,  and  round  about  unto  Illyricum."^ 
And  as  the  divine  knowledge  was  given  to  him  by  revelation, 
and  his  mind  was  illumined  by  the  Divine  Word,  he  himself 
therefore  needed  to  borrow  from  no  one,  and  required  not  the 
ministry  of  any  man  to  teach  him  tlie  word  of  truth.  Thus, 
as  it  had  been  written,  "  Thou  shalt  have  dominion  over  many 
nations,  and  they  shall  not  have  dominion  over  thee,"  he  ruled 
over  the  Gentiles  whom  he  brought  under  the  teaching  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  and  he  never  "  gave  place  by  subjection  to  men, 

1  Rom.  vii.  12,  14.  *  1  Tim.  vi.  17,  18.  »  Prov.  xiii.  8. 

*  Deut.  xxxii,  30.  ^  Rom.  xv.  19. 


Book  vii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  445 

no,  not  for  an  liour,"^  as  being  himself  mightier  than  they. 
And  thus  also  he  "  filled  the  earth." 

Chapter  xxii. 

If  I  must  now  explain  how  the  just  man  "slays  his  enemies," 
and  prevails  everywhere,  it  is  to  be  observed  that,  when  he 
says,  "  Every  morning  will  I  destroy  the  wicked  of  the  land, 
that  I  may  cut  off  all  workers  of  iniquity  from  the  city  of 
Jehovah,"  by  "the  land"  he  means  the  flesh  whose  lusts  are 
at  enmity  with  God  ;  and  by  "  the  city  of  Jehovah"  he  desig- 
nates his  own  soul,  in  which  was  the  temple  of  God,  containing 
the  true  idea  and  conception  of  God,  which  makes  it  to  be 
admired  by  all  who  look  upon  it.  As  soon,  then,  as  the  rays  of 
ithe  Sun  of  righteousness  shine  into  his  soul,  feeling  strengthened 
and  invigorated  by  their  influence,  he  sets  himself  to  destroy 
all  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  which  are  called  "  the  wicked  of  the 
land,"  and  drives  out  of  that  city  of  the  Lord  which  is  in  his 
soul  all  thoughts  which  work  iniquity,  and  all  suggestions  which 
are  opposed  to  the  truth.  And  in  this  way  also  the  just  give 
up  to  destruction  all  their  enemies,  which  are  their  vices,  so 
that  they  do  not  spare  even  the  children,  that  is,  the  early 
beginnings  and  promptings  of  evil.  In  this  sense  also  we 
understand  the  language  of  the  137th  Psalm  :  "  O  daughter 
of  Babylon,  who  art  to  be  destroyed ;  happy  shall  he  be  that 
rewardeth  thee  as  thou  hast  served  us:  happy  shall  he  be  that 
taketh  and  dasheth  thy  little  ones  against  the  stones.""  For 
"the  little  ones"  of  Babylon  (which  signifies  confusion)  are 
those  troublesome  sinful  thoughts  which  arise  in  the  soul ;  and 
he  who  subdues  them  by  striking,  as  it  were,  their  heads  against 
the  firm  and  solid  strength  of  reason  and  truth,  is  the  man  who 
"  dasheth  the  little  ones  against  the  stones ; "  and  he  is  there- 
fore truly  blessed.  God  may  therefore  have  commanded  men 
to  destroy  all  their  vices  utterly,  even  at  their  birth,  without 
having  enjoined  anything  contrary  to  the  teaching  of  Christ ; 
and  He  may  Himself  have  destroyed  before  the  eyes  of  those 
who  were  "  Jews  inwardly "  ^  all  the  offspring  of  evil  as  His 
enemies.  And,  in  like  manner,  those  who  disobey  the  law  and 
word  of  God  may  well  be  compared  to  His  enemies  led  astray 
1  Gal.  ii.  5.  2  pg,  cxsxvii.  8,  9.  ^  Rom.  ii.  29. 


UG  OniGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vir. 

by  sin ;  and  they  may  well  be  said  to  suffer  the  same  fate  as 
they  deserve  who  have  proved  traitors  to  the  truth  of  God. 

Chapter  xxiii. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  is  clear  then  that  Jesus,  "  the 
man  of  Nazareth,"  did  not  promulgate  laws  opposed  to  those 
just  considered  in  regard  to  riches,  when  He  said,  "  It  is  hard 
for  the  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God ; "  ^  whether 
we  take  the  word  "  rich  "  in  its  simplest  sense,  as  referring  to  the 
man  whose  mind  is  distracted  by  his  wealth,  and,  as  it  were, 
entangled  with  thorns,  so  that  he  brings  forth  no  spiritual  fruit ; 
or  whether  it  is  the  man  who  is  rich  in  the  sense  of  abounding 
in  false  notions,  of  whom  it  is  written  in  the  Proverbs,  "  Better 
is  the  poor  man  who  is  just,  than  the  rich  man  who  is  false."  ^ 
Perhaps  it  is  the  following  passages  which  have  led  Celsus  to 
suppose  that  Jesus  forbids  ambition  to  His  disciples :  "  Who- 
ever of  you  will  be  the  chief  est  shall  be  servant  of  all ;  "  ^  "  The 
princes  of  the  Gentiles  exercise  dominion  over  them,"  *  and 
"they  that  exercise  authority  upon  them  are  called  benefactors."  ^ 
But  there  is  nothing  here  inconsistent  with  the  promise,  "Thou 
shalt  rule  over  many  nations,  and  they  shall  not  rule  over  thee," 
especially  after  the  explanation  which  we  have  given  of  these 
words.  Celsus  next  throws  in  an  expression  in  regard  to  wis- 
dom, as  though  he  thought  that,  according  to  the  teaching  of 
Christ,  no  wise  man  could  come  to  the  Father.  But  we  would 
ask  in  what  sense  he  speaks  of  a  wise  man.  For  if  he  means 
one  who  is  wise  in  "  the  wisdom  of  this  world,"  as  it  is  called, 
"  which  is  foolishness  with  God,"  *  then  we  would  agree  with 
him  in  saying  that  access  to  the  Father  is  denied  to  one  who 
is  wise  in  that  sense.  But  if  by  wisdom  any  one  means  Christ, 
who  is  "  the  power  and  wisdom  of  God,"  far  from  such  a  wise 
man  being  refused  access  to  the  Father,  we  hold  that  he  who 
is  adorned  by  the  Holy  Spirit  with  that  gift  which  is  called 
"the  word  of  wisdom,"  far  excels  all  those  who  have  not 
received  the  same  grace. 

1  M.dXi.  xix.  23.  ^  Proy.  xxviii.  6.  »  ji-^pk  x.  44. 

*  Matt.  XX.  25.  ^  Luke  xxii.  25.  «  1  Cor.  iii.  19. 


Book  VII.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  447 


Chapter  xxtv. 

The  pursuit  of  human  glory,  we  maintain,  is  forbidden  not 
only  by  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  but  also  by  the  Old  Testament. 
Accordingly  we  find  one  of  the  prophets,  when  imprecating 
upon  himself  certain  punishments  for  the  commission  of  certain 
sins,  includes  among  the  punishments  this  one  of  earthly  glory. 
He  says,  "  O  Lord  my  God,  if  I  have  done  this ;  if  there  be 
iniquity  in  my  hands ;  if  I  have  rewarded  evil  unto  him  that 
was  at  peace  with  me  ;  (yea,  rather,  I  have  delivered  him  that 
without  cause  is  mine  enemy ;)  let  the  enemy  persecute  my  soul, 
and  take  it ;  yea,  let  him  tread  down  my  life  upon  the  earth, 
and  set  my  glory  up  on  high."^  And  these  precepts  of  our  Lord, 
"  Take  no  thought  what  ye  shall  eat,  or  what  ye  shall  drink. 
Behold  the  fowls  of  the  air,  or  behold  the  ravens :  for  they 
sow  not,  neither  do  they  reap ;  yet  your  heavenly  Father 
feedeth  them.  How  much  better  are  ye  than  they  !  And  why 
take  ye  thought  for  raiment  ?  Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field ;"  ^ 
— these  precepts,  and  those  which  follow,  are  not  inconsistent 
with  the  promised  blessings  of  the  law,  which  teaches  that  the 
just  "shall  eat  their  bread  to  the  full;"^  nor  with  that  saying 
of  Solomon,  ''  The  righteous  eatetli  to  the  satisfying  of  his 
soul,  but  the  belly  of  the  wicked  shall  want."  *  For  we  must 
consider  the  food  promised  in  the  law  as  the  food  of  the  soul, 
which  is  to  satisfy  not  both  parts  of  man's  nature,  but  the  soul 
only.  And  the  words  of  the  Gospel,  although  probably  con- 
taining a  deeper  meaning,  may  yet  be  taken  in  their  more 
simple  and  obvious  sense,  as  teaching  us  not  to  be  disturbed 
with  anxieties  about  our  food  and  clothing,  but,  while  living 
in  plainness,  and  desiring  only  what  is  needful,  to  put  our  trust 
in  the  providence  of  God. 

Chapter  xxv. 

Celsus  then  extracts  from  the  Gospel  the  precept,  "  To  him 
who  strikes  thee  once,  thou  shalt  offer  thyself  to  be  struck  again," 
although  without  giving  any  passage  from  the  Old  Testament 

1  Ps.  vii.  3-5.  Origen  follows  tlie  reading  si;  y,<A/it  instead  of  ilg  Y,vtvu^ 
"  make  my  glory  abide  in  the  dttst." 

2  Matt.  vi.  25-28.  s  Lev.  xxvi.  5.  *  Prov.  xiii.  25. 


448  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS  [Book  vji. 

which  he  considers  opposed  to  it.  On  the  one  hand,  we  know 
that  "it  was  said  to  them  in  old  time,  An  eye  for  an  eye,  and 
a  tooth  for  a  tooth  ;"^  and  on  the  other,  we  have  read,  "  I  say 
unto  you,  Whoever  shall  smite  thee  on  the  one  cheek,  turn  to 
him  the  other  also."  "  But  as  there  is  reason  to  believe  that 
Celsus  produces  the  objections  which  he  has  heard  from  those 
who  wish  to  make  a  difference  between  the  God  of  the  gospel 
and  the  God  of  the  law,  we  must  say  in  reply,  that  this  pre- 
cept, "  Whosoever  shall  strike  thee  on  the  one  cheek,  turn  to 
him  the  other,"  is  not  unknown  to  the  older  Scriptures.  For 
thus,  in  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah,  it  is  said,  "It  is  good  for 
a  man  that  he  beareth  the  yoke  in  his  youth :  he  sitteth  alone, 
and  keepetli  silence,  because  he  hath  borne  it  upon  him  :  he 
giveth  his  cheek  to  him  that  smiteth  him ;  he  is  filled  full  with 
reproach."^  There  is  no  discrepancy,  then,  between  the  God  of 
the  gospel  and  the  God  of  the  law,  even  when  we  take  literally 
the  precept  regarding  the  blow  on  the  face.  So,  then,  we  in- 
fer that  neither  "  Jesus  nor  Moses  has  taught  falsely."  The 
Father  in  sendins;  Jesus  did  not  "  foro;et  the  commands  which 
He  had  given  to  Moses : "  He  did  not  "  change  His  mind, 
condemn  His  own  laws,  and  send  by  His  messenger  counter 
instructions  " 

Chapter  xxvi. 

However,  if  we  must  refer  briefly  to  the  difference  between 
the  constitution  which  was  given  to  the  Jews  of  old  by  Moses, 
and  that  which  the  Christians,  under  the  direction  of  Christ's 
teaching,  wish  now  to  establish,  we  would  observe  that  it  must 
be  impossible  for  the  legislation  of  Moses,   taken  literally,  to 
harmonize  with  the  calling  of  the  Gentiles,  and  with  their  sub- 
jection to  the  Roman  government ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  it 
would  be  impossible  for  the  Jews  to  preserve  their  civil  economy 
unchanged,  supposing  that  they  should  embrace  the  gospel. 
I  For  Christians  could  not  slay  their  enemies,  or  condemn  to  be 
i  burned  or  stoned,  as  Moses  commands,  those  who  had  broken 
i  the  law,  and  were  therefore  condemned  as  deserving  of  these 
punishments ;  since  the  Jews  themselves,  however  desirous  of 
carrying  out  their  law,  are  not  able  to  inflict  these  punishments. 
1  Ex.  xxi.  24.  2  j^att.  v.  39.  ^  Lam.  iii.  27,  29,  30. 


Book  VII. j  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  449 

But  in  the  case  of  the  ancient  Jews,  who  had  a  land  and  a  form 
of  government  of  their  own,  to  take  from  them  the  right  of 
making  war  upon  their  enemies,  of  fighting  for  their  country,  of 
putting  to  death  or  otherwise  punishing  adulterers,  murderers, 
or  others  who  were  guilty  of  similar  crimes,  would  be  to  sub- 
ject them  to  sudden  and  utter  destruction  whenever  the  enemy 
fell  upon  them  ;  for  their  very  laws  would  in  that  case  restrain 
them,  and  prevent  them  from  resisting  the  enemy.  And  that 
same  providence  which  of  old  gave  the  law,  and  has  now  given 
the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  not  wishing  the  Jewish  state  to  con- 
tinue longer,  has  destroyed  their  city  and  their  temple :  it  has 
abolished  the  worship  which  was  offered  to  God  in  that  temple 
by  the  sacrifice  of  victims,  and  other  ceremonies  which  He  had 
prescribed.  And  as  it  has  destroyed  these  things,  not  wishing 
that  they  should  longer  continue,  in  like  manner  it  has  extended 
day  by  day  the  Christian  religion,  so  that  it  is  now  preached 
everywhere  with  boldness,  and  that  in  spite  of  the  numerous 
obstacles  which  oppose  the  spread  of  Christ's  teaching  in  the 
world.  But  since  it  was  the  purpose  of  God  that  the  nations 
should  receive  the  benefits  of  Christ's  teaching,  all  the  devices 
of  men  against  Christians  have  been  brought  to  nought ;  for 
the  more  that  kings,  and  rulers,  and  peoples  have  persecuted 
them  everywhere,  the  more  have  they  increased  in  number 
and  grown  in  strength. 

Chapter  xxyii. 

After  this  Celsus  relates  at  length  opinions  which  he  ascribes 
to  us,  but  which  we  do  not  hold,  regarding  the  Divine  Being, 
to  the  effect  that  "  he  is  corporeal  in  his  nature,  and  possesses 
a  body  like  a  man."  As  he  undertakes  to  refute  opinions  ^ 
which  are  none  of  ours,  it  would  be  needless  to  give  either  the 
,  opinions  themselves  or  their  refutation.  Indeed,  if  we  did  hold 
'those  views  of  God  which  he  ascribes  to  us,  and  which  he 
opposes,  we  would  be  bound  to  quote  his  words,  to  adduce  our 
own  arguments,  and  to  refute  his.  But  if  he  brings  forward 
opinions  which  he  has  either  heard  from  no  one,  or  if  it  be 
assumed  that  he  has  heard  them,  it  must  have  been  from  those 
who  are  very  simple  and  ignorant  of  the  meaning  of  Scripture, 
then  we  need  not  undertake  so  superfluous  a  task  as  that  of 

ORIG. VOL.  II.  2  F 


V- 


450  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vii. 

refuting  them.  For  the  Scriptures  plainly  speak  of  God  as  of 
a  being  without  body.  Hence  it  is  said,  "  No  man  hath  seen 
God  at  any  time ;  "  ^  and  the  First-born  of  all  creation  is 
called  "  the  image  of  the  invisible  God," '  which  is  the  same 
as  if  it  were  said  that  He  is  incorporeal.  However,  we  have 
already  said  something  on  the  nature  of  God  while  examining 
into  the  meaning  of  the  words,  "  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  they  who 
worship  Him  must  worship  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 

Chapter  xxviii. 

After  thus  misrepresenting  our  views  of  the  nature  of  God, 
Celsus  goes  on  to  ask  of  us  "  where  we  hope  to  go  after  death  ; " 
and  he  makes  our  answer  to  be,  "  to  another  land  better  than 
this."  On  this  he  comments  as  follows :  "  The  divine  men  of 
a  former  age  have  spoken  of  a  happy  life  reserved  for  the  souls 
of  the  blessed.  Some  designated  it  '  the  isles  of  the  blest,' 
and  others  'the  Elysian  plain,'  so  called  because  they  were 
there  to  be  delivered  from  their  present  evils.  Thus  Homer 
says :  '  But  the  gods  shall  send  thee  to  the  Elysian  plain,  on 
the  borders  of  the  earth,  where  they  lead  a  most  quiet  life.'  ^ 
Plato  also,  who  believed  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  dis- 
tinctly gives  the  name  '  land '  to  the  place  where  it  is  sent. 
*  The  extent  of  it,'^  says  he,  '  is  immense,  and  we  only  occupy 
a  small  portion  of  it,  from  the  Phasis  to  the  Pillars  of  Hercules, 
where  we  dwell  along  the  shores  of  the  sea,  as  grasshoppers 
and  frogs  beside  a  marsh.  But  there  are  many  other  places 
inhabited  in  like  manner  by  other  men.  For  there  are  in 
different  parts  of  the  earth  cavities,  varying  in  form  and  in 
magnitude,  into  which  run  water,  and  clouds,  and  air.  But  that 
land  which  is  pure  lies  in  the  pure  region  of  heaven.' "'  Celsus 
therefore  supposes  that  what  we  say  of  a  land  which  is  much 
better  and  more  excellent  than  this,  has  been  borrowed  from 
certain  ancient  writers  whom  he  styles  "  divine,"  and  chiefly 
from  Plato,  who  in  his  Phcedon  discourses  on  the  pure  land 
lying  in  a  pure  heaven.  But  he  does  not  see  that  Moses,  who 
is  much  older  than  the  Greek  literature,  introduces  God  as 
promising  to  those  who  lived  according  to  His  law  the  holy 

1  John  i.  18.  -  Col.  i.  15. 

3  Odys.  iv.  563.  *  Phxdon,  p.  109. 


i\ 


Book  VII.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  451 

land,  which  is  "  a  good  land  and  a  large,  a  land  flowing  with 
milk  and  honey ; "  ^  which  promise  is  not  to  be  understood  to 
refer,  as  some  suppose,  to  that  part  of  the  earth  which  we  call 
Judaea ;  for  it,  however  good  it  may  be,  still  forms  part  of 
the  earth,  which  was  originally  cursed  for  the  transgression 
of  Adam.  For  these  words,  "  Cursed  shall  the  ground  be  for 
what  thou  hast  done ;  with  grief,  that  is,  with  labour,  shalt  thou 
eat  of  the  fruit  of  it  all  the  days  of  thy  life,"  ^  were  spoken 
of  the  whole  earth,  the  fruit  of  which  every  man  who  died  in 
Adam  eats  with  sorrow  or  labour  all  the  days  of  his  life.  And 
as  all  the  earth  has  been  cursed,  it  brings  forth  thorns  and 
briers  all  the  days  of  the  life  of  those  who  in  Adam  were 
driven  out  of  paradise  ;  and  in  the  sweat  of  his  face  every  man 
eats  bread  until  he  returns  to  the  ground  from  which  he  was 
taken.  For  the  full  exposition  of  all  that  is  contained  in  this 
passage  much  might  be  said ;  but  we  have  confined  ourselves  to 
these  few  words  at  present,  which  are  intended  to  remove  the 
idea,  that  what  is  said  of  the  good  land  promised  by  God  to 
the  righteous,  refers  to  the  land  of  Judsea. 

Chapter  xxix. 

If,  then,  the  whole  earth  has  been  cursed  in  the  deeds  of 
Adam  and  of  those  who  died  in  him,  it  is  plain  that  all  parts 
of  the  earth  share  in  the  curse,  and  among  others  the  land  of 
Juda3a ;  so  that  the  words,  "  a  good  land  and  a  large,  a  land 
flowing  with  milk  and  honey,"  cannot  apply  to  it,  although  we 
may  say  of  it,  that  both  Judsea  and  Jerusalem  were  the  shadow 
and  figure  of  that  pure  land,  goodly  and  large,  in  the  pure 
region  of  heaven,  in  which  is  the  heavenly  Jerusalem.  And  it 
is  in  reference  to  this  Jerusalem  that  the  apostle  spoke,  as  one 
who,  "  being  risen  with  Christ,  and  seeking  those  things^  which 
are  above,"  had  found  a  truth  which  formed  no  part  of  the 
Jewish  mythology.  "  Ye  are  come,"  says  he,  "  unto  Mount 
Sion,  and  unto  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jeru- 
salem, and  to  an  innumerable  company  of  angels."  ^  And  in 
order  to  be  assured  that  our  explanation  of  "  the  good  and  large 
land  "  of  Moses  is  not  contrary  to  the  intention  of  the  Divine 
Spirit,  we  have  only  to  read  in  all  the  prophets  what  they  say 
1  Ex.  iii.  8.  2  Geo.  uj,  17,  3  Heb.  xii.  22. 


452  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vir. 

of  those  who,  after  having  left  Jerusalem,  and  wandered  astray 
from  it,  should  afterwards  return  and  be  settled  in  the  place 
which  is  called  the  habitation  and  city  of  God,  as  in  the  words, 
"  His  dwelling  is  in  the  holy  place  ; "  ^  and,  "  Great  is  the  Lord, 
and  greatly  to  be  praised  in  the  city  of  our  God,  in  the  moun- 
tain of  His  holiness,  beautiful  for  situation,  the  joy  of  the  whole 
earth."  "  It  is  enough  at  present  to  quote  the  words  of  the  thirty- 
seventh  Psalm,  which  speaks  thus  of  the  land  of  the  righteous, 
"Those  that  wait  upon  the  Lord,  they  shall  inherit  the  earth  ;" 
and  a  little  after,  "  But  the  meek  shall  inherit  the  earth,  and 
shall  delight  themselves  in  the  abundance  of  peace  ;  "  and  again, 
"Those  who  bless  Him  shall  inherit  the  earth;"  and,  "The 
righteous  shall  inherit  the  land,  and  dwell  therein  for  ever."  " 
And  consider  whether  it  is  not  evident  to  intelligent  readers 
that  the  following  words  from  this  same  Psalm  refer  to  the  pure 
land  in  the  pure  heaven :  "  Wait  on  the  Lord,  and  keep  His 
way ;  and  He  shall  exalt  thee  to  inherit  the  land." 

Chapter  xxx. 

It  seems  to  me  also  that  that  fancy  of  Plato,  that  those  stones 
which  we  call  precious  stones  derive  their  lustre  from  a  reflection, 
as  it  were,  of  the  stones  in  that  better  land,  is  taken  from  the 
words  of  Isaiah  in  describing  the  city  of  God,  "  I  will  make 
thy  battlements  of  jasper,  thy  stones  shall  be  crystal,  and  thy 
borders  of  precious  stones;'"*  and,  "I  will  lay  thy  foiandations 
with  sapphires."  •  Those  who  hold  in  greatest  reverence  the 
teaching  of  Plato,  explain  this  myth  of  his  as  an  allegory. 
And  the  prophecies  from  which,  as  we  conjecture,  Plato  has 
borrowed,  will  be  explained  by  those  who,  leading  a  godly  life 
like  that  of  the  prophets,  devote  all  their  time  to  the  study 
of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  to  those  who  are  qualified  to  learn 
by  purity  of  life,  and  their  desire  to  advance  in  divine  know- 
ledge. For  our  part,  our  purpose  has  been  simply  to  say  that 
what  we  affirm  of  that  sacred  land  has  not  been  taken  from 
Plato  or  any  of  the  Greeks,  but  that  they  rather — living  as 
they  did  not  only  after  Moses,  \y\\o  was  the  oldest,  but  even 

^  Ps.  Ixxvi.  2  ;  Englisli  version,  "  In  Salem  is  His  tabernacle." 
2  Ps.  xlviii.  1,2.  3  Ps.  xxxvii.  9,  11,  22,  29,  34. 

4  Isa.  liv.  12,  11. 


Book  vii.J  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  453 

after  most  of  the  prophets — borrowed  from  them,  and  in  so 
doing  either  misunderstood  their  obscure  intimations  on  such 
subjects,  or  else  endeavoured,  in  their  allusions  to  the  better 
land,  to  imitate  those  portions  of  Scripture  which  had  fallen 
into  their  hands.  Haggai  expressly  makes  a  distinction  be- 
tween the  earth  and  the  dry  land,  meaning  by  the  latter  the 
land  in  which  we  live.  He  says :  "  Yet  once,  and  I  will  shake 
the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  the  dry  land,  and  the  sea."^ 

CllArTER  XXXI. 

Referring  to  the  passage  in  the  Phcedon  of  Plato,  Celsus 
says :  "  It  is  not  easy  for  every  one  to  understand  the  meaning 
of  Plato's  words,  when  he  says  that  on  account  of  our  weakness 
and  slowness  we  are  unable  to  reach  the  highest  region  of  the 
air  ;  but  that  if  our  nature  were  capable  of  so  sublime  a  con- 
templation, we  would  then  be  able  to  understand  that  that  is 
the  true  heaven,  and  that  the  true  light."  As  Celsus  has 
deferred  to  another  opportunity  the  explanation  of  Plato's  idea, 
we  also  think  that  it  does  not  fall  within  our  purpose  at  pre- 
sent to  enter  into  any  full  description  of  that  holy  and  good 
land,  and  of  the  city  of  God  which  is  in  it ;  but  reserve  the 
consideration  of  it  for  our  Commentary  on  the  Prophets,  having 
already  in  part,  according  to  our  power,  treated  of  the  city  of 
God  in  our  remarks  on  the  forty-sixth  and  forty-eighth  Psalms, 
The  writings  of  Moses  and  the  prophets — the  most  ancient  of 
all  books — teach  us  that  all  things  here  on  earth  which  are  in 
common  use  among  men,  have  other  things  corresponding  to 
them  in  name  which  are  alone  real.  Thus,  for  instance,  there 
is  the  true  light,  and  another  heaven  beyond  the  firmament, 
and  a  Sun  of  righteousness  other  than  the  sun  we  see.  In  a 
word,  to  distinguish  those  things  from  the  objects  of  sense, 
which  have  no  true  reality,  they  say  of  God  that  "  His  works 
are  truth  ;"^  thus  making  a  distinction  between  the  works  of 
God  and  the  works  of  God's  hands,  which  latter  are  of  an 
inferior  sort.  Accordingly,  God  in  Isaiah  complains  of  men, 
that  "  they  regard  not  the  works  of  the  Lord,  nor  consider  the 
operation  of  His  hands." ^     But  enough  on  this  point. 

2  Dan.  iv.  37.  ^  jg^.  v.  12. 


454  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vii. 

Chapter  xxxii. 

Celsus  next  assails  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  which  is 
a  high  and  difficult  doctrine,  and  one  which  more  than  others 

(requires  a  high  and  advanced  degree  of  wisdom  to  set  forth 
how  w^orthy  it  is  of  God ;  and  how  sublime  a  truth  it  is  which 
teaches  us  that  there  is  a  seminal  principle  lodged  in  that  which 
Scripture  speaks  of  as  the  "tabernacle"  of  the  soul,  in  which 
the  righteous  "  do  groan,  being  burdened,  not  for  that  they 
would  be  unclothed,  but  clothed  upon."^  Celsus  ridicules  this 
doctrine  because  he  does  not  understand  it,  and  because  he  has 
learnt  it  from  ignorant  persons,  who  were  unable  to  support  it 
on  any  reasonable  grounds.  It  wall  be  profitable,  therefore, 
that  in  addition  to  what  we  have  said  above,  we  should  make 
this  one  remark.  Our  teaching  on  the  subject  of  the  resurrec- 
tion is  not,  as  Celsus  imagines,  derived  from  anything  that  we 
have  heard  on  the  doctrine  of  metempsychosis ;  but  we  know 
that  the  soul,  which  is  immaterial  and  invisible  in  its  nature, 
exists  in  no  material  place,  without  having  a  body  suited  to 
the  nature  of  that  place.  Accordingly,  it  at  one  time  puts  off 
one  body  which  was  necessary  before,  but  which  is  no  longer 
adequate  in  its  changed  state,  and  it  exchanges  it  for  a  second; 
and  at  another  time  it  assumes  another  in  addition  to  the 
former,  which  is  needed  as  a  better  covering,  suited  to  the 
purer  etherial  regions  of  heaven.  When  it  comes  into  the. 
world  at  birth,  it  casts  off  the  integuments  which  it  needed 
in  the  womb  ;  and  before  doing  this,  it  puts  on  another  body 
suited  for  its  life  upon  earth.  Then,  again,  as  there  is  "  a 
tabernacle"  and  "an  earthly  house"  which  is  in  some  sort 
necessary  for  this  tabernacle.  Scripture  teaches  us  that  "  the 
earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  shall  be  dissolved,"  but  that 
the  tabernacle  shall  "  be  clothed  upon  with  a  house  not  made 
with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens."'  The  men  of  God  say 
also  that  "the  corruptible  shall  put  on  in  corruption,"^  which  is 
a  different  thing  from  "  the  incorruptible  ; "  and  "  the  mortal 
shall  put  on  immortality,"  which  is  different  from  "  the  immor- 
tal." Indeed,  what  "wisdom"  is  to  "  the  wise,"  and  "justice" 
to  "the  just,"  and  "peace"  to  "the  peaceable,"  the  same 
1  2  Cor.  V.  1,  4.  2  2  Cor.  v.  1.  »  1  Cor.  xv.  53. 


Book  VII.]         ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  455 

relation  does  "  incorruption  "  hold  to  "the  incorruptible,"  and 
"immortality"  to  "the  immortal."  Behold,  then,  to  what  a 
prospect  Scripture  encourages  us  to  look,  when  it  speaks  to  us 
of  being  clothed  with  incorruption  and  immortality,  which  are, 
as  it  were,  vestments  which  will  not  suffer  those  who  are  covered 
with  them  to  come  to  corruption  or  death.  Thus  far  I  have 
taken  the  liberty  of  referring  to  this  subject,  in  answer  to  one 
who  assails  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  without  under- 
standing it,  and  who,  simply  because  he  knew  nothing  about 
it,  made  it  the  object  of  contempt  and  ridicule. 

Chapter  xxxiii. 

As  Celsus  supposes  that  we  uphold  the  doctrine  of  the  resur- 
rection in  order  that  we  may  see  and  know  God,  he  thus  follows 
out  his  notions  on  the  subject:  "After  they  have  been  utterly 
refuted  and  vanquished,  they  still,  as  if  regardless  of  all  objec- 
tions, come  back  again  to  the  same  question,  '  How  then  shall 
we  see  and  know  God  ?  how  shall  we  go  to  Him  ?  '  "  Let  any, 
however,  who  are  disposed  to  hear  us  observe,  that  if  we  have 
need  of  a  body  for  other  purposes,  as  for  occupying  a  material 
locality  to  which  this  body  must  be  adapted,  and  if  on  that 
account  the  "tabernacle"  is  clothed  in  the  way  we  have  shown, 
we  have  no  need  of  a  body  in  order  to  know  God.  For  that 
wdiicli  sees  God  is  not  the  eye  of  the  body ;  it  is  the  mind  which 

i  is  made  in  the  image  of  the  Creator,^  and  which  God  has  in 
His  providence  rendered  capable  of  that  knowledge.  To  see 
God  belongs  to  the  pure  heart,  out  of  which  no  longer  proceed 
"  evil  thoughts,  murders,  adulteries,  fornications,  thefts,  false 
witness,  blasphemies,  the  evil  eye,"  "^  or  any  other  evil  thinir. 
Wherefore  it  is  said,  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they 

■  shall  see  God."^  But  as  the  strength  of  our  will  is  not  sufficient 
to  procure  the  perfectly  pure  heart,  and  as  we  need  that  God 
should  create  it,  he  therefore  who  prays  as  he  ought,  offers  this 
petition  to  God,  "  Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  O  God."  ^ 

^  Bouhereau  follows  tlie  reading,  "  the  mind  which  sees  what  is  made  iu 
the  image  of  the  Creator." 

2  Matt.  XV.  19  and  vi.  23.  ^  ^ilatt.  v.  8.  *  Ps.  li.  10. 


456  OFJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vii. 


Chapter  xxxiy. 

And  we  do  not  ask  the  question,  "  How  shall  we  go  to  God  ?  " 
as  though  we  thought  that  God  existed  in  some  place.  God  is 
of  too  excellent  a  nature  for  any  place :  He  holds  all  things  in 
His  power,  and  is  Himself  not  confined  by  anything  whatever. 
The  precept,  therefore,  "  Thou  shalt  walk  after  the  Lord  thy 
God,"  ^  does  not  command  a  bodily  approach  to  God ;  neither 
does  the  prophet  refer  to  physical  nearness  to  God,  when  he  says 
in  his  prayer,  "  My  soul  followeth  hard  after  Thee."  ^  Celsus 
therefore  misrepresents  us,  when  he  says  that  we  expect  to  see 
God  with  our  bodily  eyes,  to  hear  Him  with  our  ears,  and  to 
touch  Him  sensibly  with  our  hands.  We  know  that  the  holy 
Scriptures  make  mention  of  eyes,  of  ears,  and  of  hands,  which 
have  nothing  but  the  name  in  common  with  the  bodily  organs ; 
and  what  is  more  wonderful,  they  speak  of  a  diviner  sense,  which 
is  very  different  from  the  senses  as  commonly  spoken  of.  For 
Avhen  the  prophet  says,  "  Open  Thou  mine  eyes,  that  I  may 
behold  wondrous  things  out  of  Thy  law,"  ^  or,  "  The  command- 
ment of  the  Lord  is  pure,  enlightening  the  eyes,"  '^  or,  "  Lighten 
mine  eyes,  lest  I  sleep  the  sleep  of  death,"  ^  no  one  is  so  foolish 
as  to  suppose  that  the  eyes  of  the  body  behold  the  wonders  of 
the  divine  law,  or  that  the  law  of  the  Lord  gives  light  to  the 
bodily  eyes,  or  that  the  sleep  of  death  falls  on  the  eyes  of  the 
body.  When  our  Saviour  says,  "  He  that  hath  ears  to  hear, 
let  him  hear,"  '^  any  one  will  understand  that  the  ears  spoken  of 
are  of  a  diviner  kind.  When  it  is  said  that  the  word  of  the 
Lord  was  "  in  the  hand  "  of  Jeremiah  or  of  some  other  prophet ; 
or  when  the  expression  is  used,  "  the  law  by  the  hand  of 
Moses,"  or,  "  I  sought  the  Lord  with  my  hands,  and  was  not 
deceived,"  ^ — no  one  is  so  foolish  as  not  to  see  that  the  word 
"  hands  "  is  taken  figuratively,  as  when  John  says,  "  Our  hands 
have  handled  the  Word  of  life."  ^  And  if  you  wish  further  to 
learn  from  the  sacred  writings  that  there  is  a  diviner  sense 

1  Deut.  xiii.  4.  -  Ps.  Ixiii.  8. 

3  Ps.  cxix.  18.  *  Ps.  xix.  8. 

5  Ps.  xiii.  3.  «  Matt.  xiii.  9. 

^  Ps.  Ixxvii.  2,  according  to  the  LXX. 
8  1  John  i.  1. 


Book  VII. J  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  457 

than  the  senses  of  the  body,  you  have  only  to  hear  what  Solo- 
mon says,  "  Thou  shalt  find  a  divine  sense."  ^ 

Chapter  xxxv. 

Seeking  God,  then,  in  this  way,  we  have  no  need  to  visit  the 
oracles  of  Trophonius,  of  Amphiaraus,  and  of  Mopsus,  to  which 
Celsus  would  send  us,  assuring  us  that  we  would  there  "  see  the 
gods  in  human  form,  appearing  to  us  with  all  distinctness,  and 
without  illusion."  For  we  know  that  these  are  demons,  feeding 
on  the  blood,  and  smoke,  and  odour  of  victims,  and  shut  up  by 
their  base  desires  in  prisons,  which  the  Greeks  call  temples  of  the 
gods,  but  which  we  know  are  only  the  dwellings  of  deceitful 
demons.  To  this  Celsus  maliciously  adds,  in  regard  to  these 
gods  which,  according  to  him,  are  in  human  form,  "  they  do  not 
show  themselves  for  once,  or  at  intervals,  like  him  who  has  de- 
ceived men,  but  they  are  ever  open  to  intercourse  with  those 
who  desire  it."  From  this  remark,  it  would  seem  that  Celsus 
supposes  that  the  appearance  of  Christ  to  His  disciples  after 
His  resurrection  was  like  that  of  a  spectre  flitting  before  their 
e3'es ;  whereas  these  gods,  as  he  calls  them,  in  human  shape 
always  present  themselves  to  those  who  desire  it.  But  how  is 
it  possible  that  a  phantom  which,  as  he  describes  it,  flew  past 
to  deceive  the  beholders,  could  produce  such  effects  after  it 
had  passed  away,  and  could  so  turn  the  hearts  of  men  as  to  lead 
them  to  regulate  their  actions  according  to  the  will  of  God,  as 
in  view  of  being  hereafter  judged  by  Him?  And  how  could 
a  phantom  drive  away  demons,  and  show  other  indisputable 
evidences  of  power,  and  that  not  in  any  one  place,  like  these 
so-called  gods  in  human  form,  but  making  its  divine  power  felt 
through  the  whole  world,  in  drawing  and  congregating  together 
all  who  are  found  disposed  to  lead  a  good  and  noble  life  ? 

CnAPTER  XXXVI. 

After  these  remarks  of  Celsus,  which  we  have  endeavoured 
to  answer  as  we  could,  he  goes  on  to  say,  speaking  of  us  :  "Again 
they  will  ask,  '  How  can  we  know  God,  unless  by  the  perception 
of  the  senses  ?  for  how  otherwise  than  through  the  senses  are  we 
able  to  gain  any  knowledge  ?  '"  To  this  he  replies  :  "  This  is 
1  Prov.  ii.  5.    E.  V.  and  LXX.,  "  Thou  shalt  find  the  knowledge  of  God." 


458  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vii. 

not  the  language  of  a  man ;  it  comes  not  from  the  soul,  but 
from  the  flesh.  Let  them  hearken  to  us,  if  such  a  spiritless 
and  carnal  race  are  able  to  do  so  :  if,  instead  of  exercising  the 
senses,  you  look  upwards  \Yith  the  soul ;  if,  turning  away  the  eye 
of  the  body,  you  open  the  eye  of  the  mind,  thus  and  thus  only 
will  you  be  able  to  see  God.  And  if  you  seek  one  to  be  your 
guide  along  this  way,  you  must  shun  all  deceivers  and  jugglers, 
who  will  introduce  you  to  phantoms.  Otherwise  you  will  be 
acting  the  most  ridiculous  part,  if,  whilst  you  pronounce  impre- 
cations upon  those  others  that  are  recognised  as  gods,  treating 
them  as  idols,  you  yet  do  homage  to  a  more  wretched  idol  than 
any  of  these,  which  indeed  is  not  even  an  idol  or  a  phantom, 
but  a  dead  man,  and  you  seek  a  father  like  to  him."  The  first 
remark  which  we  have  to  make  on  this  passage  is  in  regard  to 
his  use  of  personification,  by  which  he  makes  us  defend  in  this 
way  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection.  This  figure  of  speech 
is  properly  employed  w^hen  the  character  and  sentiments  of 
the  person  introduced  are  faithfully  preserved ;  but  it  is  an 
abuse  of  the  figure  when  these  do  not  acrree  with  the  character 
and  opinions  of  the  speaker.  Thus  we  should  justly  condemn 
a  man  who  put  into  the  mouths  of  barbarians,  slaves,  or  un- 
educated people  the  language  of  philosophy ;  because  we  know 
that  the  philosophy  belonged  to  the  author,  and  not  to  such 
persons,  who  could  not  know  anything  of  philosophy.  And 
in  like  manner  we  should  condemn  a  man  for  introducing  per- 
sons who  are  represented  as  wise  and  well  versed  in  divine 
knowledge,  and  should  make  them  give  expression  to  language 
which  could  only  come  out  of  the  mouths  of  those  who  are 
ignorant  or  under  the  influence  of  vulgar  passions.  Hence 
Homer  is  admired,  among  other  things,  for  preserving  a  con- 
sistency of  character  in  his  heroes,  as  in  Nestor,  Ulysses, 
Diomede,  Agamemnon,  Telemachus,  Penelope,  and  the  rest. 
Euripides,  on  the  contrary,  was  assailed  in  the  comedies  of 
Aristophanes  as  a  frivolous  talker,  often  putting  into  the  mouth 
of  a  barbarian  woman,  a  wretched  slave,  the  wise  maxims  which 
he  had  learned  from  Anaxagoras  or  some  other  philosophers. 


1/ 


Book  vii.]  OPdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  459 

Chapter  xxxvii. 

Now  if  this  is  a  true  account  of  wliat  constitutes  the  right 
and  the  wrong  use  of  personification,  liave  we  not  grounds  for 
holding  Celsus  up  to  ridicule  for  thus  ascribing .  to  Christians 
words  which  they  never  uttered  ?  For  if  those  whom  he 
represents  as  speaking  are  the  unlearned,  how  is  it  possible  that 
such  persons  could  distinguish  between  "  sense  "  and  "  reason," 
between  "  objects  of  sense"  and  "objects  of  the  reason"?"  To 
argue  in  this  waj,  they  would  require  to  have  studied  under  the 
iStoics,  who  deny  all  intellectual  existences,  and  maintain  that  all 
that  we  apprehend  is  apprehended  through  the  senses,  and  that 
all  knowledge  comes  throun;h  the  senses.  But  if,  on  the  other 
hand,  he  puts  these  words  into  the  mouth  of  philosophers  who 
search  carefully  into  the  meaning  of  Christian  doctrines,  the 
statements  in  question  do  not  agree  with  their  character  and 
principles.  For  no  one  -who  has  learnt  that  God  is  invisible,  and 
that  certain  of  His  works  are  invisible,  that  is  to  say,  appre- 
hended by  the  reason,^  can  say,  as  if  to  justify  his  faith  in  a 
resurrection,  "How  can  they  know  God,  except  by  the  perception 
of  the  senses?"  or,  "How  otherwise  than  through  the  senses 
can  they  gain  any  knowledge  ?  "  For  it  is  not  in  any  secret 
writings,  perused  only  by  a  few  wise  men,  but  in  such  as  are 
most  widely  diffused  and  most  commonly  known  among  the 
people,  that  these  words  are  written :  "  The  invisible  things  of 
God  from  the  creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being 
understood  by  the  things  that  are  made."'  From  whence  it  is 
to  be  inferred,  that  though  men  avIio  live  upon  the  earth  have 
to  begin  with  the  use  of  the  senses  upon  sensible  objects,  in 
order  to  go  on  from  them  to  a  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  things 
intellectual,  yet  their  knowledge  must  not  stop  short  with  the 
objects  of  sense.  And  thus,  while  Christians  would  not  say  that 
it  is  impossible  to  have  a  knowledge  of  intellectual  objects  with-  -^ 
out  the  senses,  but  rather  that  the  senses  supply  the  first  means 
of  obtaining  knowledge,  they  might  well  ask  the  question,  "  Who 
can  gain  any  knowledge  without  the  senses  ?  "  without  deserving 

^  woyjT«,  falling  under  tlie  province  of  vov;,  the  reason.    For  convenience,  we 
translate  it  elsewhere  "  intellectual." 
2  Rom.  i.  20. 


4C0  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vii. 

the  abuse  of  Celsus,  when  he  adds,  "  This  is  not  the  language  of 
a  man ;  it  comes  not  from  the  soul,  but  from  the  flesh." 

Chapter  xxxviii. 

Since  we  hold  that  the  great  God  is  in  essence  simple,  invi- 
sible, and  incorporeal,  Himself  pure  intelligence,  or  something 
transcending  intelligence  and  existence,  we  can  never  say  that 
-  God  is  apprehended  by  any  other  means  than  through  the  in- 
telligence which  is  formed  in  His  image,  though  now,  in  the 
words  of  Paul,  "  we  see  in  a  glass  obscurely,  but  then  face  to 
face."^  And  if  we  use  the  expression  "  face  to  face,"  let  no  one 
pervert  its  meaning ;  but  let  it  be  explained  by  this  passage, 
"  Beholding  with  open  face  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  Ave  are 
changed  into  the  same  image,  from  glory  to  glory,"  which  shows 
that  we  do  not  use  the  word  in  this  connection  to  mean  the 
visible  face,  but  take  it  figuratively,  in  the  same  way  as  we  have 
shown  that  the  eyes,  the  ears,  and  the  other  parts  of  the  body 
are  employed.  And  it  is  certain  that  a  man — I  mean  a  soul 
using  a  body,  otherwise  called  "  the  inner  man,"  or  simply 
"  the  soul " — would  answer,  not  as  Celsus  makes  us  answer,  but 
as  the  man  of  God  himself  teaches.  It  is  certain  also  that  a 
Christian  will  not  make  use  of  "  the  language  of  the  flesh," 
having  learnt  as  he  has  "to  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body""  by 
the  spirit,  and  "  to  bear  about  in  his  body  the  dying  of  Jesus  ;"^ 
and  "  mortify  your  members  which  are  on  the  earth,"*  and  with 
a  true  knowledge  of  these  words,  "  My  Spirit  shall  not  always 
strive  with  man,  for  that  he  also  is  flesh," ^  and  again,  "They  that 
are  in  the  flesh  cannot  please  God,'"*  he  strives  in  everyway  to  live 
no  longer  according  to  the  flesh,  but  only  according  to  the  Spirit. 

Chapter  xxxix. 

Now  let  us  hear  what  it  is  that  he  invites  us  to  learn,  that  we 
may  ascertain  from  him  how  we  are  to  know  God,  although  he 
thinks  that  his  words  are  beyond  the  capacity  of  all  Christians. 
"  Let  them  hear,"  says  he,  "  if  they  are  able  to  do  so."  We 
have  then  to  consider  what  the  philosopher  wishes  us  to  hear 
from  him.     But  instead  of  instructing  us  as  he  ought,  he  abuses 

1  1  Cor.  xiii.  12.  -  Rom.  viii.  13.  »  9  Cor.  iv.  10. 

*  Col.  iii.  5.  ^  Gen.  vi.  3.  *  Rom.  viii.  8. 


Book  VII. J  OniG EN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  461 

us ;  and  wlille  he  should  Imve  shown  liis  goodwill  to  those 
whom  he  addresses  at  the  outset  of  his  discourse,  he  stigmatizes 
as  "a  cowardly  race"  men  who  would  rather  die  than  abjure 
Christianity  even  by  a  word,  and  who  are  ready  to  suffer  every 
form  of  torture,  or  any  kind  of  death.  He  also  applies  to  us 
the  epithet  "carnal"  or  "flesh-indulging,"  "although,"  as  we 
are  wont  to  say,  "  we  have  known  Christ  after  tlie  flesh,  yet 
now  henceforth  we  know  Him  no  more,"  ^  and  although  we  are 
so  ready  to  lay  doAvn  our  lives  for  the  cause  of  religion,  that  no 
philosopher  could  lay  aside  his  robes  more  readily.  He  then  ad- 
dresses to  us  these  words :  "  If,  instead  of  exercising  your  senses, 
you  look  upwards  with  the  soul ;  if,  turning  away  the  eye  of  the 
body,  you  open  the  eye  of  the  mind,  thus  and  thus  only  you 
will  be  able  to  see  God."  He  is  not  aware  that  this  reference 
to  the  two  eyes,  the  eye  of  the  body  and  the  eye  of  the  mind, 
which  he  has  borrowed  from  the  Greeks,  was  in  use  among  our 
own  writers ;  for  Moses,  in  his  account  of  the  creation  of  the 
world,  introduces  man  before  his  transgression  as  both  seeing 
and  not  seeing :  seeing,  when  it  is  said  of  the  woman,  "  The 
woman  saw  that  the  tree  was  good  for  food,  and  that  it  was 
pleasant  to  the  eyes,  and  a  tree  to  be  desired  to  make  one  wise;"^ 
and  again  not  seeing,  as  when  he  introduces  the  serpent  saying 
to  the  woman,  as  if  she  and  her  husband  had  been  blind,  "  God 
knows  that  on  the  day  that  ye  eat  thereof  your  eyes  shall  be 
opened ;""  and  also  when  it  is  said,  "  They  did  eat,  and  the  eyes 
of  both  of  them  were  opened."^  The  eyes  of  sense  were  then 
opened,  which  they  had  done  well  to  keep  shut,  that  they  might 
not  be  distracted,  and  hindered  from  seeing  with  the  eyes  of  the 
mind ;  and  it  was  those  eyes  of  the  mind  which  in  consequence 
of  sin,  as  I  imagine,  were  then  closed,  with  which  they  had  up  to 
that  time  enjoyed  the  delight  of  beholding  God  and  His  paradise. 
This  twofold  kind  of  vision  in  us  was  familiar  to  our  Saviour, 
who  says,  "  For  judgment  I  am  come  into  this  world,  that  they 
which  see  not  might  see,  and  that  they  which  see  might  be 
made  blind," ^ — meaning  by  the  eyes  that  see  not  the  eyes  of  the 
mind,  which  are  enlightened  by  His  teaching;  and  the  eyes 
which  see  are  the  eyes  of  sense,  which  His  words  do  render  blind, 

1  2  Cor.  V.  16.  2  Gen.  iii.  6.  ^  q.^^   -^^  5 

*  Gen.  iii.  7.  *  John  ix.  39. 


462  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSVS.  [Book  vii. 

in  order  that  the  soul  may  look  without  distraction  upon  proper 
objects.  All  true  Christians  therefore  have  the  eye  of  the 
mind  sharpened,  and  the  eye  of  sense  closed ;  so  that  each  one, 
according  to  the  degree  in  which  his  better  eye  is  quickened, 
and  the  eye  of  sense  darkened,  sees  and  knows  the  Supreme 
God,  and  His  Son,  who  is  the  Word,  Wisdom,  and  so  forth. 

Chapter  xl. 

Next  to  the  remarks  of  Celsus  on  which  we  have  already 
commented,  come  others  which  he  addresses  to  all  Christians, 
but  which,  if  applicable  to  any,  ought  to  be  addressed  to  persons 
whose  doctrines  differ  entirely  from  those  taught  by  Jesus.  For 
it  is  the  Ophians  w^ho,  as  we  have  before  shown,^  have  utterly 
renounced  Jesus,  and  perhaps  some  others  of  similar  opinions 
who  are  "  the  impostors  and  jugglers,  leading  men  away  to  idols 
and  phantoms  ; "  and  it  is  they  who  with  miserable  pains  learn 
off  the  names  of  the  heavenly  doorkeepers.  These  words  are 
therefore  quite  inappropriate  as  addressed  to  Christians :  "  If 
you  seek  one  to  be  your  guide  along  this  way,  you  must  shun 
all  deceivers  and  jugglers,  who  will  introduce  you  to  phantoms." 
And,  as  though  quite  unaware  that  these  impostors  entirely 
agree  with  him,  and  are  not  behind  him  in  speaking  ill  of  Jesus 
and  His  religion,  he  thus  continues,  confounding  us  with  them  : 
"  otherwise  you  will  be  acting  the  most  ridiculous  part,  if,  whilst 
you  pronounce  imprecations  upon  those  other  recognised  gods, 
treating  them  as  idols,  you  yet  do  homage  to  a  more  wretched 
idol  than  any  of  these,  which  indeed  is  not  even  an  idol  or  a 
phantom,  but  a  dead  man,  and  you  seek  a  father  like  to  him- 
self." That  he  is  ignorant  of  the  wide  difference  between  our 
opinions  and  those  of  the  inventors  of  these  fables,  and  that  he 
imagines  the  charges  which  he  makes  against  them  applicable 
to  us,  is  evident  from  the  following  passage :  "  For  the  sake  of 
such  a  monstrous  delusion,  and  in  support  of  those  wonderful 
advisers,  and  those  wonderful  words  which  you  address  to  the 
lion,  to  the  amphibious  creature,  to  tlie  creature  in  the  form 
of  an  ass,  and  to  others,  for  the  sake  of  those  divine  doorkeepers 
whose  names  you  commit  to  memory  with  such  pains,  in  such  a 
cause  as  this  you  suffer  cruel  tortures,  and  perish  at  the  stake." 
^  See  Book  vL  chap.  xxx.  etc. 


Book  VII.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSVS.  463 

Surely,  then,  he  is  unaware  tliat  none  of  those  \Yho  regard  beings 
in  the  form  of  an  ass,  a  lion,  or  an  amphibious  animal,  as  the 
doorkeepers  or  guides  on  the  way  to  lieuven,  ever  expose  them- 
selves to  death  in  defence  of  that  which  they  think  the  truth. 
That  excess  of  zeal,  if  it  may  be  so  called,  which  leads  us  for 
the  sake  of  religion  to  submit  to  every  kind  of  death,  and  to 
perish  at  the  stake,  is  ascribed  by  Celsus  to  those  who  endure 
no  such  sufferings ;  and  he  reproaches  us  who  suffer  crucifixion 
for  our  faith,  with  believing  in  fabulous  creatures — in  the  lion, 
the  amphibious  animal,  and  other  such  monsters.  If  we  reject 
all  these  fables,  it  is  not  out  of  deference  to  Celsus,  for  we  have 
never  at  any  time  held  any  such  fancies ;  but  it  is  in  accordance 
with  the  teaching  of  Jesus  that  we  oppose  all  such  notions,  and 
will  not  allow  to  Michael,  or  to  any  others  that  have  been 
referred  to,  a  form  and  figure  of  that  sort. 

Chapter  xli. 

But  let  us  consider  who  those  persons  are  whose  guidance 
Celsus  would  have  us  to  follow,  so  that  we  may  not  be  in  want 
of  guides  who  are  recommended  both  by  their  antiquity  and 
sanctity.  He  refers  us  to  divinely  inspired  poets,  as  he  calls 
them,  to  wise  men  and  philosophers,  without  mentioning  their 
names ;  so  that,  after  promising  to  point  out  those  who  should 
guide  us,  he  simply  hands  us  over  in  a  general  way  to  divinely 
inspired  poets,  wise  men,  and  philosophers.  If  he  had  specified 
their  names  in  particular,  we  should  have  felt  ourselves  bound 
to  show  him  that  he  wished  to  give  us  as  guides  men  who  were 
blinded  to  the  truth,  and  who  must  therefore  lead  us  into  error; 
or  that  if  not  wholly  blinded,  yet  they  are  in  error  in  many 
matters  of  belief.  But  whether  Orpheus,  Parmenides,  Em- 
pedocles,  or  even  Homer  himself,  and  Hesiod,  are  the  persons 
whom  he  means  by  "  inspired  poets,"  let  any  one  show  how  those 
who  follow  their  guidance  walk  in  a  better  way,  or  lead  a  more 
excellent  life,  than  those  who,  being  taught  in  the  school  of  Jesus 
Christ,  have  rejected  all  images  and  statues,  and  even  all  Jewish 
superstition,  that  they  may  look  upward  through  the  Word  of 
God  to  the  one  God,  who  is  the  Father  of  the  WxDrd.  Who,  then, 
are  those  wise  men  and  philosophers  from  whom  Celsus  would 
have  us  to  learn  so  many  divine  truths,  and  for  whom  we  are  to 


464  ORIGEX  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vii. 

give  up  Moses  the  servant  of  God,  the  prophets  of  the  Creator 
of  the  world,  who  have  spoken  so  many  things  by  a  truly  divine 
inspiration,  and  even  Him  who  has  given  light  and  taught  the 
way  of  piety  to  the  whole  human  race,  so  that  no  one  can 
reproach  Him  if  he  remains  without  a  share  in  the  knowledge  of 
His  mysteries  ?  Such,  indeed,  was  the  abounding  love  which  He 
had  for  men,  that  He  gave  to  the  more  learned  a  theology  capable 
of  raising  the  soul  far  above  all  earthly  things ;  while  with  no 
less  consideration  He  comes  down  to  the  weaker  capacities  of 
ignorant  men,  of  simple  women,  of  slaves,  and,  in  short,  of  all 
those  who  from  Jesus  alone  could  have  received  that  help  for 
the  better  regulation  of  their  lives  which  is  supplied  by  His 
instructions  in  regard  to  the  Divine  Being,  adapted  to  their 
wants  and  capacities. 

CnAPTER  XLII. 

Celsus  next  refers  us  to  Plato  as  to  a  more  effective  teacher 
of  theological  truth,  and  quotes  the  following  passage  from  the 
TimcBus :  "  It  is  a  hard  matter  to  find  out  the  Maker  and 
Father  of  this  universe  ;  and  after  having  found  Him,  it  is 
impossible  to  make  Him  known  to  all."  To  which  he  himself 
adds  this  remark :  "  You  perceive,  then,  how  divine  men  seek 
after  the  way  of  truth,  and  how  well  Plato  knew  that  it  was 
impossible  for  all  men  to  walk  in  it.  But  as  wise  men  have 
found  it  for  the  express  purpose  of  being  able  to  convey  to  us 
some  notion  of  Him  who  is  the  first,  the  unspeakable  Being, — 
a  notion,  namely,  which  may  represent  Him  to  us  through  the 
medium  of  other  objects, — they  endeavour  either  by  synthesis, 
which  is  the  combining  of  various  qualities,  or  by  analysis, 
which  is  the  separation  and  setting  aside  of  some  qualities,  or 
finally  by  analogy ; — in  these  ways,  I  say,  they  endeavour  to  set 
before  us  that  which  it  is  impossible  to  express  in  words.  I 
should  therefore  be  surprised  if  you  could  follow  in  that  course, 
since  you  are  so  completely  wedded  to  the  flesh  as  to  be  in- 
capable of  seeing  aught  but  what  is  impure."  These  words  of 
Plato  are  noble  and  admirable ;  but  see  if  Scripture  does  not 
give  us  an  example  of  a  regard  for  mankind  still  greater  in 
God  the  Word,  who  was  "in  the  beginning  with  God,"  and 
"  who  was  made  flesh,"  in  order  that  He  might  reveal  to  all  men 


Book  VII.]  ORIG EN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  4C5 

truths  which,  accordhig  to  Plato,  it  would  be  impossible  to  make 
known  to  all  men,  even  after  he  had  found  them  himself. 
Plato  may  say  that  "  it  is  a  hard  thinir  to  find  out  the  Creator 

'  and  Father  of  this  universe ; "  by  which  language  he  implies 
that  it  is  not  wholly  beyond  the  power  of  human  nature  to 
attain  to  such  a  knowledge  as  is  either  worthy  of  God,  or  if 

,  not,  is  far  beyond  that  which  is  commonly  attained  (although 

i_if  it  were  true  that  Plato  or  any  other  of  the  Greeks  had  found 
God,  they  would  never  have  given  homage  and  worship,  or 
ascribed  the  name  of  God,  to  any  other  than  to  Him  :  they 
would  have  abandoned  all  others,  and  would  not  have  asso- 
ciated with  this  great  God  objects  which  can  have  nothing  in 
common  with  Him).  For  ourselves,  we  maintain  that  human 
nature  is  in  no  way  able  to  seek  after  God,  or  to  attain  a  clear 
knowledge  of  Him  without  the  help  of  Him  whom  it  seeks. 
He  makes  Himself  known  to  those  who,  after  doing  all  that 

;  their  powers  will  allow,  confess  that  they  need  help  from  Him, 
who  discovers  Himself  to  those  whom  He  approves,  in  so  far  as 
it  is  possible  for  man  and  the  soul  still  dwelling  in  the  body  to 
know  God. 

Chapter  xliii. 

Observe  that  when  Plato  says,  that  "  after  having  found  out 
the  Creator  and  Father  of  the  universe,  it  is  impossible  to  make 
Him  known  to  all  men,"  he  does  not  speak  of  Him  as  iinspeak- 
able,  and  as  incapable  of  being  expressed  in  words.  On  the 
contrary,  he  implies  that  He  may  be  spoken  of,  and  that  there 
are  a  few  to  whom  He  may  be  made  known.  But  Celsus,  as 
if  forgetting  the  language  which  he  had  just  quoted  from  Plato, 
immediately  gives  God  the  name  of  "  the  unspeakable."  He 
says :  "  since  the  wise  men  have  found  out  this  way,  in  order  to 
be  able  to  give  us  some  idea  of  the  First  of  Beings,  who  is 
unspeakable.*'  For  ourselves,  we  hold  that  not  God  alone  is 
unspeakable,  but  other  things  also  which  are  inferior  to  Him. 
Such  are  the  things  which  Paul  labours  to  express  when  he 
says,  "  I  heard  unspeakable  words,  which  it  is  not  lawful  for  a 
man  to  utter,"  ^  wdiere  the  word  "heard"  is  used  in  the  sense 
of  "  understood ;"  as  in  the  passage,  "  He  who  hath  ears  to  hear, 

-  2  Cor.  xii.  4. 

ORIG.— VOL.  II.  2  G 


4G6  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vir. 

let  him  hear."  We  also  hold  that  it  is  a  hard  matter  to  see  the 
Creator  and  Father  of  the  universe ;  but  it  is  possible  to  see 
Him  in  the  way  thus  referred  to,  "Blessed  are  the  pure  in 
heart,  for  they  shall  see  God;"^  and  not  only  so,  but  also  in  the 
sense  of  the  words  of  Him  "  who  is  the  image  of  the  invisible 
God  ; "  "  He  who  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father  who  sent 
mie."  ^  No  sensible  person  could  suppose  that  these  last  words 
were  spoken  in  reference  to  His  bodily  presence,  which  was 
open  to  the  view  of  all ;  otherwise  all  those  who  said,  "  Cru- 
cify him,  crucify  him,"  and  Pilate,  who  had  power  over  the 
humanity  of  Jesus,  were  among  those  who  saw  God  the  Father, 
which  is  absurd.  Moreover,  that  these  words,  "  He  that  hath 
seen  me,  hath  seen  the  Father  who  sent  me,"  are  not  to  be 
taken  in  their  grosser  sense,  is  plain  from  the  answer  which 
He  gave  to  Philip,  "  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and 
yet  dost  thou  not  know  me,  Philip  ?  "  after  Phihp  had  asked, 
"  Show  us  the  Father,  and  it  sufficeth  us."  He,  then,  who  per- 
ceives how  these  words,  "  The  Word  was  made  flesh,"  are  to  be 
understood  of  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God,  the  first-born  of 
all  creation,  will  also  understand  how,  in  seeing  the  image  of 
the  invisible  God,  we  see  "the  Creator  and  Father  of  the 
universe." 

Chapter  xliv. 

Celsus  supposes  that  we  may  arrive  at  a  knowledge  of  God 
either  by  combining  or  separating  certain  things  after  the 
methods  which  mathematicians  call  synthesis  and  analysis,  or 
again  by  analogy,  which  is  employed  by  them  also,  and  that  in 
this  way  we  may  as  it  were  gain  admission  to  the  chief  good. 
But  when  the  Word  of  God  says,  "  No  man  knoweth  the  Father 
but  the  Son,  and  he  to  whomsoever  the  Son  will  reveal  Him,"  ^ 
He  declares  that  no  one  can  know  God  but  by  the  help  of 
divine  grace  coming  from  above,  with  a  certain  divine  inspira- 
tion. Indeed,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  knowledge  of 
God  is  beyond  the  reach  of  human  nature,  and  hence  the  many 
errors  into  which  men  have  fallen  in  their  views  of  God.  It  is, 
then,  through  the  goodness  and  love  of  God  to  mankind,  and 
by  a  marvellous  exercise  of  divine  grace  to  those  whom  He  saw 
1  Matt.  V.  8.  2  John  xiv.  9.  ^  Matt.  xi.  27. 


Book  vn.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  467 

in  His  foreknowledge,  and  knew  that  they  would  walk  worthy 
of  Him  who  had  made  Himself  known  to  them,  and  that  they 
would  never  swerve  from  a  faithful  attachment  to  His  service, 
although  they  were  condemned  to  death  or  held  up  to  ridicule 
by  those  who,  in  ignorance  of  what  true  religion  is,  give  that 
name  to  what  deserves  to  be  called  anvthincv  rather  than  reli- 
gion.  God  doubtless  saw  the  pride  and  arrogance  of  those  who, 
with  contempt  for  all  others,  boast  of  their  knowledge  of  God, 
and  of  their  profound  acquaintance  with  divine  things  obtained 
from  philosophy,  but  who  still,  not  less  even  than  the  most 
ignorant,  run  after  their  images,  and  temples,  and  famous 
mysteries ;  and  seeing  this.  He  "  has  chosen  the  foolish  things 
of  this  world"  ^ — the  simplest  of  Christians,  who  lead,  however, 
a  life  of  greater  moderation  and  purity  than  many  philosophers 
— "to  confound  the  wise,"  who  are  not  ashamed  to  address 
inanimate  things  as  gods  or  images  of  the  gods.  For  what 
reasonable  man  can  refrain  from  smiling  when  he  sees  that  one 
who  has  learned  from  philosophy  such  profound  and  noble 
sentiments  about  God  or  the  gods,  turns  straightway  to  images 
and  offers  to  them  his  prayers,  or  imagines  that  by  gazing  upon 
these  material  things  he  can  ascend  from  the  visible  symbol  to 
that  which  is  spiritual  and  immaterial.  But  a  Christian,  even 
of  the  common  people,  is  assured  that  every  place  forms  part 
of  the  universe,  and  that  the  whole  universe  is  God's  temple. 
In  whatever  part  of  the  world  he  is,  he  prays ;  but  he  rises 
above  the  universe,  "shutting  the  eyes  of  sense,  and  raising 
upwards  the  eyes  of  the  soul."  And  he  stops  not  at  the  vault 
of  heaven ;  but  passing  in  thought  beyond  the  heavens,  under 
the  guidance  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  having  thus  as  it  were 
gone  beyond  the  visible  universe,  he  offers  prayers  to  God. 
But  he  prays  for  no  trivial  blessings,  for  he  has  learnt  from 
Jesus  to  seek  for  nothing  small  or  mean,  that  is,  sensible  ob- 
jects, but  to  ask  only  for  what  is  great  and  truly  divine;  and 
these  things  God  grants  to  us,  to  lead  us  to  that  blessedness  which 
is  found  only  with  Him  through  His  Son,  the  Word,  who  is  God. 

Chapter  xlv. 

But  let  us  see  further  what  the  things  are  which  he  proposes 
1  1  Cor.  i.  27. 


4G8  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vir. 

to  teach  us,  if  indeed  we  can  comprehend  them,  since  he  speaks 
of  us  as  being  "utterly  wedded  to  the  flesh;"  although  if  we 
live  well,  and  in  accordance  with  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  we  hear 
this  said  of  us :  "  Ye  are  not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  Spirit,  if 
the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you."  ^  He  says  also  that  we 
look  upon  nothing  that  is  pure,  although  our  endeavour  is  to 
keep  even  our  thoughts  free  from  all  defilement  of  sin,  and 
although  in  prayer  we  say,  "  Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  O 
God,  and  renew  a  right  spirit  within  me," "  so  that  we  may 
behold  Him  with  that  "  pure  heart "  to  which  alone  is  granted 
the  privilege  of  seeing  Him.  This,  then,  is  what  he  proposes 
for  our  instruction  :  "  Things  are  either  intelligible,  which  we 
call  substance — being  ;  or  visible,  which  we  call  becoming  :^  with 
the  former  is  truth  ;  from  the  latter  arises  error.  Truth  is  the 
object  of  knowledge ;  truth  and  error  form  opinion.  Intelli- 
gible objects  are  known  by  the  reason,  visible  objects  by  the 
eyes ;  the  action  of  the  reason  is  called  intelligent  perception, 
that  of  the  eyes  vision.  As,  then,  among  visible  things  the  sun 
is  neither  the  eye  nor  vision,  but  that  which  enables  the  eye  to 
see,  and  renders  vision  possible,  and  in  consequence  of  it  visible 
things  are  seen,  all  sensible  things  exist,  and  itself  is  rendered 
visible  ;  so  among  things  intelligible,  that  which  is  neither  rea- 
son, nor  intelligent  perception,  nor  knowledge,  is  yet  the  cause 
which  enables  the  reason  to  know,  which  renders  intelligent  per- 
ception possible ;  and  in  consequence  of  it  knowledge  arises, 
all  things  intelligible,  truth  itself  and  substance  have  their  exist- 
ence; and  itself,  which  is  above  all  these  things,  becomes  in 
some  ineffable  way  intelligible.  These  things  are  offered  to  the 
consideration  of  the  intelligent ;  and  if  even  you  can  understand 
any  of  them,  it  is  well.  And  if  you  think  that  a  Divine  Spirit 
has  descended  from  God  to  announce  divine  things  to  men,  it 
is  doubtless  this  same  Spirit  that  reveals  these  truths,  and  it 
was  under  the  same  influence  that  men  of  old  made  known 
many  important  truths.  But  if  you  cannot  comprehend  these 
things,  then  keep  silence ;  do  not  expose  your  own  ignorance, 
and  do  not  accuse  of  blindness  those  who  see,  or  of  lameness 

1  Rom.  viii.  9.  2  pg.  n  10. 

^  yeviffi;.     For  the  distinction  between  oia/a  and  yiuiais,  sec  Plato's 
Sojihista,  p.  246. 


Book  vii.]  ORIGEN  A  GAINST  CELSUS.  469 

those  wlio  run,  while  you  yourselves  are  utterly  lamed  and 
mutilated  in  mind,  and  lead  a  merely  animal  life — the  life  of 
the  body,  which  is  the  dead  part  of  our  nature." 

Chapter  xlvi. 

f  We  are  careful  not  to  oppose  fair  arguments  even  if  they 
proceed  from  those  who  are  not  of  our  faith ;  we  strive  not  to 
be  captious,  or  to  seek  to  overthrow  any  sound  reasonings.  But 
here  we  have  to  reply  to  those  who  slander  the  character  of 
persons  wishing  to  do  their  best  in  the  service  of  God,  who 
accepts  the  faith  which  the  meanest  place  in  Him,  as  well  as 
the  more  refined  and  intelligent  piety  of  the  learned ;  seeing 
that  both  alike  address  to  the  Creator  of  the  world  their  prayers 
and  thanksgivings  through  the  High  Priest  who  has  set  before 
men  the  nature  of  pure  religion.  We  say,  then,  that  those  who 
are  stigmatized  as  "  lamed  and  mutilated  in  spirit,"  as  ''  living 
only  for  the  sake  of  the  body  which  is  dead,"  are  persons  whose 
endeavour  it  is  to  say  with  sincerity :  "  For  though  we  live  ^  in 
the  flesh,  we  do  not  war  according  to  the  flesh ;  for  the  weapons 
of  our  warfare  are  not  fleshly,  but  mighty  through  God."  It  is 
for  those  who  throw  out  such  vile  accusations  against  men  who 
desire  to  be  God's  servants,  to  beware  lest,  by  the  calumnies 
which  they  cast  upon  others  who  strive  to  live  well,  they  "  lame  " 
their  own  souls,  and  "  mutilate"  the  inner  man,  by  severing  from 
lit  that  justice  and  moderation  of  mind  which  the  Creator  has 
Iplanted  in  the  nature  of  all  His  rational  creatures.  As  for 
those,  however,  who,  along  with  other  lessons  given  by  the  Divine 
Word,  have  learned  and  practised  this,  "  when  reviled  to  bless, 
when  persecuted  to  endure,  when  defamed  to  entreat,""  they 
may  be  said  to  be  walking  in  spirit  in  the  ways  of  uprightness, 
to  be  purifying  and  setting  in  order  the  whole  soul.  They  dis- 
tinguish— and  to  them  the  distinction  is  not  one  of  words 
merely — between  "  substance,"  or  that  which  is,  and  that 
which  is  "  becoming ; "  between  things  apprehended  by  reason, 
and  things  apprehended  by  sense ;  and  they  connect  truth  with 
the  one,  and  avoid  the  errors  arising  out  of  the  other ;  looking, 
as  they  have  been  taught,  not  at  the  things  "  becoming "  or 

^  1  Cor.  X.  3,  4.     The  received  text  has  "walk."  instead  of  "  live." 
2  1  Cor.  iv.  11,  12. 


470  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vn. 

phenomenal,  which  are  seen,  and  therefore  temporary,  but  at 
better  things  than  these,  whether  we  call  them  "  substance," 
or  "  spiritual "  things,  as  being  apprehended  by  reason,  or  "  in- 
visible," because  they  lie  out  of  the  reach  of  the  senses.  The 
disciples  of  Jesus  regard  these  phenomenal  things  only  that 
they  may  use  them  as  steps  to  ascend  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
things  of  reason.  For  "  the  invisible  things  of  God,"  that  is,  the 
objects  of  the  reason,  "  from  the  creation  of  the  world  are  clearly 
seen  "  by  the  reason,  "  being  understood  by  the  things  that  are 
made."  And  when  they  have  risen  from  the  created  things  of 
this  world  to  the  invisible  things  of  God,  they  do  not  stay  there ; 
but  after  they  have  sufficiently  exercised  their  minds  upon  these, 
and  have  understood  their  nature,  they  ascend  to  "  the  eternal 
power  of  God,"  in  a  word,  to  His  divinity.  For  they  know  that 
1  God,  in  His  love  to  men,  has  "  manifested  "  His  truth,  and  "  that 
;  which  is  known  of  Him,"  not  only  to  those  who  devote  them- 
,  selves  to  His  service,  but  also  to  some  who  are  far  removed  from 
'the  purity  of  worship  and  service  which  He  requires;  and  that 
some  of  those  who  by  the  providence  of  God  had  attained  a 
knowledge  of  these  truths,  were  yet  doing  things  unworthy  of 
that  knowledge,  and  "holding  the  truth  in  unrighteousness," 
and  who  are  unable  to  find  any  excuse  before  God  after  the 
knowledge  of  such  great  truths  which  He  has  given  them. 

Chapter  xlvii. 

For  Scripture  testifies,  in  regard  to  those  w'ho  have  a  know- 
ledge of  those  things  of  which  Celsus  speaks,  and  who  profess 
a  philosophy  founded  on  these  principles,  that  they,  "  when  they 
knew  God,  glorified  Him  not  as  God,  neither  were  thankful, 
but  became  vaiu  in  their  imaginations ; "  and  notwithstanding 
the  bright  light  of  knowledge  with  which  God  had  enlightened 
them,  "their  foolish  heart"   w^as  carried  away,  and  became 
"  darkened."^    Thus  we  may  see  how  those  who  accounted  them- 
selves wise  gave  proofs  of  great  folly,  when,  after  such  grand 
arguments  delivered  in  the  schools  on  God  and  on  things  appre- 
hended by  the  reason,  they  "'  changed  the  glory  of  the  incorrup- 
I  tible  God  into  an  image  made  like  to  corruptible  man,  and  to 
I  birds,  and  four-footed  beasts,  and  creeping  things.""     As,  then, 
^  Rom.  i.  21.  -  Rom.  i.  25. 


Book  vii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  471 

they  lived  in  a  way  unworthy  of  the  knowledge  which  they  had 
received  from  God,  His  providence  leaving  them  to  themselves, 
they  were  given  "  up  to  uncleanness,  through  the  lusts  of  their 
own  hearts  to  dishonour  their  own  bodies,"^  in  shamelessness 
and  licentiousness,  because  they  "  changed  the  truth  of  God 
into  a  lie,  and  worshipped  and  served  the  creature  more  than 
the  Creator." 

Chapter  xlviii. 

But  those  who  are  despised  for  their  ignorance,  and  set  down 
as  fools  and  abject  slaves,  no  sooner  commit  themselves  to  God's 
guidance  by  accepting  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  than,  so  far  from 
defiling  themselves  by  licentious  indulgence  or  the  gratification 
of  shameless  passion,  they  in  many  cases,  like  perfect  priests,  for 
whom  such  pleasures  have  no  charm,  keep  themselves  in  act  and 
in  thought  in  a  state  of  virgin  purity.  The  Athenians  have  one 
hierophaut,  who,  not  having  confidence  in  his  power  to  restrain 
his  passions  within  the  limits  he  prescribed  for  himself,  deter- 
mined to  check  them  at  their  seat  by  the  application  of  hemlock ; 
and  thus  he  was  accounted  pure,  and  fit  for  the  celebration  of 
religious  worship  among  the  Athenians.  But  among  Christians 
may  be  found  men  who  have  no  need  of  hemlock  to  fit  them  for 
the  pure  service  of  God,  and  for  whom  the  Word  in  place  of 
hemlock  is  able  to  drive  all  evil  desires  from  their  thoughts,  so 
that  they  may  present  their  prayers  to  the  Divine  Being.  And 
attached  to  the  other  so-called  gods  are  a  select  number  of 
virgins,  who  are  guarded  by  men,  or  it  may  be  not  guarded  (for 
that  is  not  the  point  in  question  at  present),  and  who  are 
supposed  to  live  in  purity  for  the  honour  of  the  god  they  serve. 
But  among  Christians,  those  who  maintain  a  perpetual  virginity 
do  so  for  no  human  honours,  for  no  fee  or  reward,  from  no 
motive  of  vainglory ;  but  "  as  they  choose  to  retain  God  in  their 
knowledge,"^  they  are  preserved  by  God  in  a  spirit  well-pleasing 
to  Him,  and  in  the  discharge  of  every  duty,  being  filled  with  all 
righteousness  and  goodness.       ^ 

Chapter  xlix. 

What  I  have  now  said,  then,  is  offered  not  for  the  purpose  of 
1  Rom.  i.  24,  25.  2  i^om.  i.  28. 


472  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSVS.  [Book  vii. 

cavilling  with  any  right  opinions  or  sound  doctrines  held  even 

by  Greeks,  but  with  the  desire  of  showing  that  the  same  things, 

and  indeed  much  better  and  diviner  things  than  these,  have 

been  said  by  those  divine  men,  the  prophets  of  God  and  the 

apostles  of  Jesus.     These  truths  are  fully  investigated  by  all 

\  who  wish  to  attain  a  perfect  knowledge  of  Christianity,  and  who 

1  know  that  "  the  mouth  of  the  righteous  speaketh  wisdom,  and 

I  his  tongue  talketh  of  judgment ;  the  law  of  his  God  is  in  his 

/  heart."  ^    But  even  in  regard  to  those  who,  either  from  deficiency 

j    of  knowledge  or  want  of  inclination,  or  from  not  liaving  Jesus 

!    to  lead  them  to  a  rational  view  of  religion,  have  not  gone  into 

I   these  deep  questions,  we  find  that  they  believe  in  the  Most  High 

God,  and  in  His  onlj'-begotten  Son,  the  Word  and  God,  and  that 

they  often  exhibit  in  their  character  a  high  degree  of  gravity, 

of  purity,  and  integrity ;  while  those  who  call  themselves  wise 

have  despised  these  virtues,  and  have  wallowed  in  the  filth  of 

sodomy,  in  lawless  lust,  "  men  with  men  working  that  which  is 

unseemly."  ^ 

Chapter  l. 

Celsus  has  not  explained  how  error  accompanies  the  "  becom- 
ing," or  product  of  generation ;  nor  has  he  expressed  himself 
with  sufficient  clearness  to  enable  us  to  compare  his  ideas  with 
ours,  and  to  pass  judgment  on  them.  But  the  prophets,  who 
have  given  some  wise  suggestions  on  the  subject  of  things  pro- 
I  duced  by  generation,  tell  us  that  a  sacrifice  for  sin  was  offered 
even  for  new-born  infants,  as  not  being  free  from  sin.  They  say, 
"  I  was  shapen  in  iniquity,  and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive 
me  ;"^  also,  "  They  are  estranged  from  the  womb  ; "  which  is 
followed  by  the  singular  expressiou,  "  Tliey  go  astray  as  soon  as 
they  are  born,  speaking  lies."^  Besides,  our  wise  men  have  such 
a  contempt  for  all  sensible  objects,  that  sometimes  they  speak  of 
all  material  things  as  vanity  :  thus,  "  For  the  creature  was  made 
subject  to  vanity,  not  willingly,  but  by  reason  of  him  that  sub- 
jected the  same  in  hope  ;  "^  at  other  times  as  vanity  of  vanities, 
''  Vanity  of  vanities,  saith  the  Preacher,  all  is  vanity."*'  Who 
has  ffiven  so  severe  an  estimate  of  the  life  of  the  human  soul 

O 

1  Ps.  xxxvii.  30,  31.  ^  Rom.  i.  27.  s  pg.  li.  5. 

<  Ps.  Iviii.  3.  ^  Rom.  viii.  20.  «  Eccles.  i.  2. 


Book  vii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  473 

liere  on  earth,  as  he  wlio  says :  "  Yerlly  every  man  at  his  best 
estate  is  altogether  vanity?"^  He  does  not  hesitate  at  all  as 
to  the  difference  between  the  present  life  of  the  soul  and  that 
whicli  it  is  to  lead  hereafter.  He  does  not  say,  "  Who  knows 
if  to  die  is  not  to  live,  and  if  to  live  is  not  death  ^"^  But  he 
boldly  proclaims  the  truth,  and  says,  "  Our  soul  is  bowed  down 
to  the  dust;  "^  and,  "Thou  hast  brought  me  into  the  dust  of 
death  ;  "^  and  similarly,  "  Who  will  deliver  me  from  the  body  of 
this  death?  ''^  also,  ''  Who  will  change  the  body  of  our  humilia- 
tion."^ It  is  a  prophet  also  who  says,  ''  Thou  hast  brought  us  / 
down  in  a  place  of  affliction  ; " '  meaning  by  the  "  place  of  afflic- 
tion" this  earthly  region,  to  which  Adam,  that  is  to  say,  man, 
came  after  he  was  driven  out  of  paradise  for  sin.  Observe  also , 
how  well  the  different  life  of  the  soul  here  and  hereafter  has' 
been  recognised  by  him  who  says,  "  Now  w^e  see  in  a  glass,  ob- 
scurely, but  then  face  to  face  ;  "^  and,  ''  Whilst  we  are  in  our 
home  in  the  body,  we  are  away  from  our  home  in  the  Lord ; " 
wherefore  "  we  are  well  content  to  go  from  our  home  in  the 
body,  and  to  come  to  our  home  with  the  Lord."^ 

CHArXEE  LI. 

!  But  what  need  is  there  to  quote  any  more  passages  against 
Celsus,  in  order  to  prove  that  his  words  contain  nothing  which 
was  not  said  long  before  among  ourselves,  since  that  has  been 
sufficiently  established  by  what  we  have  said  ?  It  seems  that 
what  follows  has  some  reference  to  this  :  "  If  you  think  that  a 
Divine  Spirit  has  descended  from  God  to  announce  divine  things 
to  men,  it  is  doubtless  this  same  Spirit  that  reveals  these  truths  ; 
and  it  was  under  the  same  influence  that  men  of  old  made 
known  many  important  truths."  But  he  does  not  know  how 
great  is  the  difference  between  those  things  and  the  clear  and 
certain  teaching  of  those  who  say  to  us,  "  Thine  incorruptible 
spirit  is  in  all  things,  wherefore  God  chasteneth  them  by  little  and 
little  that  offend  ;'"^^  and  of  those  who,  among  their  other  instruc- 

!  tious,  teach  us  that  the  words,  "  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost,"  ^^ 

1  Ps.  xxxix.  5.  2  Euripides.  ^  Ps.  xliv.  25. 

4  Ps.  xxii.  15.  5  Rom.  vii.  24.  «  Phil.  iii.  21. 

'  Ps.  xliii.  19,  LXX.  8  1  Cor.  xiii.  12.  »  2  Cor.  v.  6,  8. 

10  Wi5d.  xii.  1,  2.  ^  Joliu  xx.  22. 


474  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vii. 

\k  refer  to  a  degree  of  spiritual  influence  higher  than  that  in  the 
passage,  "  Ye  shall  be  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost  not  many- 
days  hence."  ^    But  it  is  a  difficult  matter,  even  after  much  care- 
I  ful  consideration,  to  perceive  the  difference  between  those  who 

I  have  received  a  knowlediije  of  the  truth  and  a  notion  of  God  at 

I  .  .  . 

j  different  intervals  and  for  short  periods  of  time,  and  those  who 

1  are  more  fully  inspired  by  God,  who  have  constant  communion 

\  with  Him,  and  are  always  led  by  His  Spirit.     Had  Celsus  set 

himself  to  understand  this,  he  would  not  have  reproached  us 

Avith  ignorance,  or  forbidden  us  to  characterize  as  "  blind  "  those 

who  believe  that  religion  shows  itself  in  such  products  of  man's 

mechanical  art  as  images.    For  every  one  who  sees  with  the  eyes 

of  his  soul  serves  the  Divine  Being  in  no  other  way  than  in  that 

which  leads  him  ever  to  have  regard  to  the  Creator  of  all,  to 

address  his  prayers  to  Him  alone,  and  to  do  all  things  as  in  the 

sight  of  God,  who  sees  us  altogether,  even  to  our  thoughts.    Our 

earnest  desire  then  is  both  to  see  for  ourselves,  and  to  be  leaders 

of  the  blind,  to  bring  them  to  the  "Word  of  God,  that  He  may 

take  away  from  their  minds  the  blindness  of  ignorance.     And 

if  our  actions  are  worthy  of  Him  who  taught  His  disciples,  "  Ye 

are  the  light  of  the  w^orld,"  "  and  of  the  Word,  who  says,  "  The 

light  shineth  in  darkness,"^  then  we  shall  be  light  to  those  who 

are  in  darkness;  we  shall  give  wisdom  to  those  who  are  without 

it,  and  we  shall  instruct  the  ignorant. 

Chapter  lii. 

And  let  not  Celsus  be  angry  if  we  describe  as  lame  and 
mutilated  in  soul  those  who  run  to  the  temples  as  to  places 
having  a  real  sacredness,  and  who  cannot  see  that  no  mere 
mechanical  work  of  man  can  be  truly  sacred.  Those  whose 
piety  is  grounded  on  the  teaching  of  Jesus  also  run  until  they 
come  to  the  end  of  their  course,  when  they  can  say  in  all  truth 
and  confidence :  '■'•  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished 
my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith ;  henceforth  there  is  laid  up 
for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness."  ^  And  each  of  us  runs  "  not 
as  uncertain,"  and  he  so  fights  with  evil  "  not  as  one  beating 
the  air,"  ^  but  as  against  those  who  are  subject  to  "  the  prince 

^  Acts  i.  5.  -  Matt.  v.  14.  ^  John  i.  5. 

*  2  Tim.  iv.  7.  ^  1  Cor.  ix.  26. 


Book  vii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  475 

of  the  power  of  the  air,  the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  chil- 
dren of  disobedience."  ^  Celsus  may  indeed  say  of  iis  that  we 
"  live  with  the  body  which  is  a  dead  thing ;  "  but  we  have  learnt, 
"  If  ye  live  after  the  flesh,  ye  shall  die ;  but  if  ye  by  the  Spirit 
do  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body,  ye  shall  live  ;  "  ^  and,  "  If  we 
live  in  the  Spirit,  let  us  also  walk  in  the  Spirit."  ^  Would 
that  we  might  convince  him  by  our  actions  that  he  did  us  wrong, 
when  he  said  that  we  "  live  with  the  body  which  is  dead  ! " 

Chapter  liii. 

After  these  remarks  of  Celsus,  which  we  have  done  our  best 
to  refute,  he  goes  on  to  address  us  thus :  "  Seeing  you  are  so 
eager  for  some  novelty,  how  much  better  it  would  have  been  if 
you  had  chosen  as  the  object  of  your  zealous  homage  some  one 
of  those  who  died  a  glorious  death,  and  whose  divinit}'-  might 
have  received  the  support  of  some  myth  to  perpetuate  his 
memory !  Why,  if  you  were  not  satisfied  with  Hercules  or 
^sculapius,  and  other  heroes  of  antiquity,  you  had  Orpheus,  . 
who  w'as  confessedly  a  divinely  inspired  man,  who  died  a  vio-  f" 
lent  death.  But  perhaps  some  others  have  taken  him  up  before 
you.  You  may  then  take  Anaxarchus,  who,  when  cast  into  a 
mortar,  and  beaten  most  barbarously,  showed  a  noble  contempt 
for  his  suffering,  and  said,  '  Ber^t,  beat  the  shell  of  Anaxarchus, 
for  himself  you  do  not  beat,' — a  speech  surely  of  a  spirit  truly 
divine.  But  others  were  before  you  in  following  his  interpre- 
tation of  the  laws  of  nature.  Might  you  not,  then,  take  Epictetus, 
who,  when  his  master  was  twisting  his  leg,  said,  smiling  and 
unmoved,  '  You  will  break  my  leg  ; '  and  when  it  was  broken, 
he  added, '  Did  I  not  tell  you  that  you  would  break  it  ? '  What 
saying  equal  to  these  did  your  god  utter  under  suffering  ?  If 
you  had  said  even  of  the  Sibyl,  whose  authority  some  of  you 
acknowledge,  that  she  was  a  child  of  God,  you  would  have  said 
something  more  reasonable.  But  you  have  had  the  presump- 
tion to  include  in  her  writings  many  impious  things,  and  set  up 
as  a  god  one  who  ended  a  most  infamous  life  by  a  most  miser- 
able death.  How  much  more  suitable  than  he  would  have 
been  Jonah  in  the  whale's  belly,  or  Daniel  delivered  from  the 
wild  beasts,  or  any  of  a  still  more  portentous  kind !  " 

i  Eph.  ii.  2.  -  Rom.  viii.  13.  s  Gal.  v.  25. 


476  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vii. 

Chapter  liv. 

But  since  he  sends  its  to  Hercules,  let  him  repeat  to  us  any 
of  his  sayings,  and  let  him  justify  his  shameful  subjection  to 
Omphale.  Let  him  show  that  divine  honours  should  be  paid 
to  one  Avho,  like  a  highway  robber,  carries  off  a  farmer's  ox  by 
force,  and  afterwards  devours  it,  amusing  himself  meanwhile 
with  the  curses  of  the  owner ;  in  memory  of  which  even  to 
this  day  sacrifices  offered  to  the  demon  of  Hercules  are  accom- 
panied with  curses.  Again  he  proposes  iEsculapius  to  us,  as  if 
to  oblige  us  to  repeat  what  we  have  said  already;  but  we  for- 
bear. In  regard  to  Orpheus,  what  does  he  admire  in  him  to 
make  him  assert  that,  by  common  consent,  he  was  regarded  as 
a  divinely  inspired  manj  and  lived  a  noble  life  ?  I  am  greatly 
deceived  if  it  is  not  the  desire  which  Celsus  has  to  oppose  us 
and  put  do^^^l  Jesus  that  leads  him  to  sound  forth  the  praises 
of  Orpheus ;  and  whether,  when  he  made  himself  acquainted 
with  his  impious  fables  about  the  gods,  he  did  not  cast  them 
aside  as  deserving,  even  more  than  the  poems  of  Homer,  to  be 
excluded  from  a  well-ordered  state.  For,  indeed,  Orpheus  says 
much  worse  things  than  Homer  of  those  whom  they  call  gods. 
Noble,  indeed,  it  was  in  Anaxarchus  to  say  to  Aristocreon, 
tyrant  of  Cyprus,  "  Beat  on,  beat  the  shell  of  Anaxarchus," 
but  it  is  the  one  admirable  incident  in  the  life  of  Anaxarchus 
known  to  the  Greeks ;  and  although,  on  the  strength  of  that, 
some  like  Celsus  might  deservedly  honour  the  man  for  his 
courage,  yet  to  look  up  to  Anaxarchus  as  a  god  is  not  consistent 
with  reason.  He  also  directs  us  to  Epictetus,  whose  firmness 
is  justly  admired,  although  his  saying  when  his  leg  was  broken 
by  his  master  is  not  to  be  compared  with  the  marvellous  acts 
and  words  of  Jesus  which  Celsus  refuses  to  believe ;  and  these 
I  words  were  accompanied  by  such  a  divine  power,  that  even  to 
I  this  day  they  convert  not  only  some  of  the  more  ignorant  and 
simple,  but  many  also  of  the  most  enlightened  of  men. 

Chapter  ly. 

When,  to  his  enumeration  of  tliosc  to  whom  he  would  send 
us,  he  adds,  '•  What  saying  equal  to  these  did  your  god  utter 
under  sufferings?  "  we  would  reply,  that  the  silence  of  Jesus 


Book  VII.]  OlilGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  477 

under  scourgings,  and  amidst  all  His  sufferings,  spoke  more  for 
His  firmness  and  submission  than  all  that  was  said  by  the  Greeks 
when  beset  by  calamity.  Perhaps  Celsus  may  believe  what 
was  recorded  with  all  sincerity  by  trustworthy  men,  who,  while 
giving  a  truthful  account  of  all  the  wonders  performed  by  Jesus, 
specify  among  these  the  silence  which  He  preserved  when  sub- 
jected to  scourgings ;  showing  the  same  singular  meekness 
under  the  insults  which  were  heaped  upon  Him,  when  they  put 
upon  Him  the  purple  robe,  and  set  the  crown  of  thorns  upon 
His  head,  and  when  they  put  in  His  hand  a  reed  in  place  of 
a  sceptre :  no  unworthy  or  angry  word  escaped  Him  against 
those  who  subjected  Him  to  such  outrages.  Since,  then,  He 
received  the  scourgings  with  silent  firmness,  and  bore  with 
meekness  all  the  insults  of  those  who  outraged  Him,  it  cannot 
be  said,  as  is  said  by  some,  that  it  was  in  cowardly  weakness 
that  He  uttered  the  words :  "  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this 
cup  pass  from  me :  nevertheless,  not  as  I  will,  but  as  Thou 
wilt."  ^  The  prayer  which  seems  to  be  contained  in  these  words 
for  the  removal  of  what  He  calls  "  the  cup "  bears  a  sense 
which  we  have  elsewhere  examined  and  set  forth  at  lar£je.  But 
taking  it  in  its  more  obvious  sense,  consider  if  it  be  not  a  prayer 
offered  to  God  with  all  piety.  For  no  man  naturally  regards 
anything  which  may  befall  him  as  necessary  and  inevitable ; 
though  he  may  submit  to  what  is  not  inevitable,  if  occasion  re- 
quires. Besides,  these  words,  "  nevertheless,  not  as  I  will,  but 
as  Thou  wilt,"  are  not  the  language  of  one  who  yielded  to  neces- 
sity, but  of  one  who  was  contented  with  what  was  befalling 
Him,  and  who  submitted  with  reverence  to  the  arrangements 
of  Providence. 

Chapter  lvi. 

Celsus  then  adds,  for  what  reason  I  know  not,  that  instead 
of  calling  Jesus  the  Son  of  God,  we  had  better  have  given  that 
honour  to  the  Sibyl,  in  whose  books  he  maintains  we  have  in- 
terpolated many  impious  statements,  though  he  does  not  nien- 
Ktion  what  those  interpolations  are.      He  might  have  proved  his 
\  assertion  by  producing  some  older  copies  which  are  free  from 
•  the  interpolations  which  he  attributes  to  us ;  but  he  does  not 

^  Matt.  xxvi.  39. 


478  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vir. 

do  so  even  to  justify  liis  statement  that  these  passages  are  of 
an  impious  character.  Moreover,  he  again  speaks  of  the  life 
of  Jesus  as  "  a  most  infamous  life,"  as  he  has  done  before,  not 
once  or  twice,  but  many  times,  although  he  does  not  stay  to 
specify  any  of  the  actions  of  His  life  which  he  thinks  most 
infamous-  He  seems  to  think  that  he  may  in  this  way  make 
assertions  without  proving  them,  and  rail  against  one  of  ^Yhom 
he  knows  nothing.  Had  he  set  himself  to  show  what  sort  of 
infamy  he  found  in  the  actions  of  Jesus,  we  should  have  repelled 
the  several  charges  brouglit  against  Him.  Jesus  did  indeed  meet 
with  a  most  sad  death ;  but  the  same  might  be  said  of  Socrates, 
and  of  Anaxarchus,  whom  he  had  just  mentioned,  and  a  mul- 
titude of  others.  If  the  death  of  Jesus  was  a  miserable  one, 
was  not  that  of  the  others  so  too?  And  if  their  death  was  not 
miserable,  can  it  be  said  that  the  death  of  Jesus  was  ?  You 
see  from  this,  then,  that  the  object  of  Celsus  is  to  vilify  the 
character  of  Jesus ;  and  I  can  only  suppose  that  he  is  driven 
to  it  by  some  spirit  akin  to  those  whose  power  has  been  broken 
and  vanquished  by  Jesus,  and  which  now  finds  itself  deprived 
of  the  smoke  and  blood  on  which  it  lived,  whilst  deceiving  those 
who  sought  for  God  here  upon  earth  in  images,  instead  of 
looking  up  to  the  true  God,  the  Governor  of  all  things. 

Chapter  lvii. 

After  this,  as  though  his  object  was  to  swell  the  size  of  his 
book,  he  advises  us  "  to  choose  Jonah  rather  than  Jesus  as  our 
God;"  thus  setting  Jonah,  who  preached  repentance  to  the 
single  city  of  Nineveh,  before  Jesus,  who  has  preached  repent- 
ance to  the  whole  world,  and  with  much  greater  results.  He 
would  have  us  to  regard  as  Gorl  a  man  who,  by  a  strange 
miracle,  passed  three  days  and  three  nights  in  the  whale's  belly ; 
and  he  is  unwilling  that  He  wdio  submitted  to  death  for  the  sake 
of  men.  He  to  whom  God  bore  testimony  through  the  prophets, 
and  who  has  done  great  things  in  heaven  and  earth,  should 
receive  on  that  ground  honour  second  only  to  that  which  is 
given  to  the  Most  High  God.  INIoreover,  Jonah  was  swallowed 
by  the  whale  for  refusing  to  preach  as  God  had  commanded 
him  ;  vs^hile  Jesus  suffered  death  for  men  after  He  had  given 
the  instructions  which  God  wished  Him  to  give.     Still  further, 


A 


Book  vii  ]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  47D 

he  adds  that  Daniel  rescued  from  the  lions  is  more  worthy  of 
our  adoration  than  Jesus,  who  subdued  the  fierceness  of  every 
opposing  power,  and  gave  to  us  "  authority  to  tread  on  serpents 
and  scorpions,  and  over  all  the  power  of  the  enemy." ^  Finally, 
having  no  other  names  to  offer  us,  he  adds,  "  and  others  of  a 
still  more  monstrous  kind," — thus  casting  a  slight  upon  both 
Jonah  and  Daniel ;  for  the  spirit  which  is  in  Celsus  cannot 
speak  well  of  the  righteous. 

Chapter  lviii. 

Let  us  now  consider  what  follows.  "  They  have  also,"  says 
he,  "  a  precept  to  this  effect,  that  we  ought  not  to  avenge  our- 
selves on  one  who  injures  us,  or,  as  he  expresses  it,  '  Whosoever 
shall  strike  thee  on  the  one  cheek,  turn  to  him  the  other  also.' 
This  is  an  ancient  saying,  which  had  been  admirably  expressed 
long  before,  and  which  they  have  only  reported  in  a  coarser 
way.  For  Plato  introduces  Socrates  conversing  with  Crito  as 
follows  :  '  Must  we  never  do  injustice  to  any  ? '  '  Certainly  not.' 
'  And  since  we  must  never  do  injustice,  must  we  not  return 
injustice  for  an  injustice  that  has  been  done  to  us,  as  most 
people  think  ?  '  'It  seems  to  me  that  we  should  not.'  '  But  tell 
me,  Crito,  may  we  do  evil  to  any  one  or  not  ? '  '  Certainly  not, 
O  Socrates.'  '  "Well,  is  it  just,  as  is  commonly  said,  for  one 
who  has  suffered  wrong  to  do  wrong  in  return,  or  is  it  unjust  ?  ' 
*  It  is  unjust.  Yes ;  for  to  do  harm  to  a  man  is  the  same  as 
to  do  him  injustice.'  '  You  speak  truly.  We  must  then  not 
do  injustice  in  return  for  injustice,  nor  must  we  do  evil  to  any 
one,  whatever  evil  we  may  have  suffered  from  him.'  Thus 
Plato  speaks ;  and  he  adds,  *  Consider,  then,  whether  you  are 
at  one  with  me,  and  whether,  starting  from  this  principle,  we 
may  not  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  never  right  to  do 
injustice,  even  in  return  for  an  injustice  which  has  been  re- 
ceived ;  or  whether,  on  the  other  hand,  you  differ  from  me,  and 
do  not  admit  the  principle  from  which  we  started.  That  has 
.always  been  my  opinion,  and  is  so  still.' ^  Such  are  the  senti- 
i  ments  of  Plato,  and  indeed  they  were  held  by  divine  men 
before  his  time.  But  let  this  suffice  as  one  example  of  the  way 
in  which  this  and  other  truths  have  been  borrowed  and  cor- 
1  Luke  X.  19.  2  Plato's  Crito,  p.  49. 


480  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vii. 

rupted.    Any  one  who  wishes  can  easily  by  searching  find  more 
of  them." 

Chapter  lix. 

When  Celsus  here  or  elsewhere  finds  himself  unable  to  dis- 
pute the  truth  of  what  Ave  say,  but  avers  that  the  same  things 
were  said  by  the  Greeks,  our  answer  is,  that  if  the  doctrine  be 
sound,  and  the  effect  of  it  good,  whether  it  was  made  known  to  the 
Greeks  by  Plato  or  any  of  the  wise  men  of  Greece,  or  whether 
it  was  delivered  to  the  Jews  by  Moses  or  any  of  the  prophets, 
or  whether  it  was  given  to  the  Christians  in  the  recorded 
teaching  of  Jesus  Christ,  or  in  the  instructions  of  His  apostles, 
that  does  not  affect  the  value  of  the  truth  communicated.  It 
is  no  objection  to  the  principles  of  Jews  or  Christians,  that  the 

I  same  things  were  also  said  by  the  Greeks,  especially  if  it  be 
proved  that  the  writings  of  the  Jews  are  older  than  those  of 
the  Greeks.  And  further,  we  are  not  to  imagine  that  a  truth 
adorned  with  the  graces  of  Grecian  speech  is  necessarily  better 
than  the  same  when  expressed  in  the  more  humble  and  unpre- 
tending language  used  by  Jews  and  Christians,  although  indeed 
I  the  language  of  the  Jews,  in  which  the  prophets  wrote  the 
1  books  which  have  come  down  to  us,  has  a  grace  of  expression 
■'  peculiar  to  the  genius  of  the  Hebrew  tongue.  And  even  if 
we  were  required  to  show  that  the  same  doctrines  have  been 
better  expressed  among  the  Jewish  prophets  or  in  Christian 
writings,  however  paradoxical  it  may  seem,  we  are  prepared  to 
prove  this  by  an  illustration  taken  from  different  kinds  of  food, 
and  from  the  different  modes  of  preparing  them.  Suppose 
that  a  kind  of  food  which  is  wholesome  and  nutritious  has  been 
prepared  and  seasoned  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  fit,  not  for  the 
simple  tastes  of  peasants  and  poor  labourers,  but  for  those  only 
who  are  rich  and  dainty  in  their  tastes.  Suppose,  again,  that 
that  same  food  is  prepared  not  to  suit  the  tastes  of  the  more 
delicate,  but  for  the  peasants,  the  poor  labourers,  and  the  com- 
mon people  generally,  in  short,  so  that  myriads  of  persons 
miglit  eat  of  it.  Now  if,  according  to  the  supposition,  the  food 
prepared  in  the  one  way  promotes  the  health  of  those  only  who 
are  styled  the  better  classes,  while  none  of  the  others  could 
taste  it,  whereas  when  prepared  in  the  other  way  it  promoted 


Book  vii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  481 

tlie  health  of  great  multitudes  of  men,  which  shall  we  esteem 
as  most  contributing  to  the  public  welfare, — those  who  prepare 
food  for  persons  of  mark,  or  those  who  prepare  it  for  the  mul- 
titudes?— taking  for  granted  that  in  both  cases  the  food  is 
equally  wholesome  and  nourishing  ;  while  it  is  evident  that  the 
welfare  of  mankind  and  the  common  good  are  promoted  better 
by  that  physician  who  attends  to  the  health  of  the  many,  than 
by  one  who  confines  his  attention  to  a  few. 

Chapter  lx. 

Now,  after  understanding  this  illustration,  we  have  to  apply 
it  to  the  qualities  of  spiritual  food  with  which  the  rational  part 
of  man  is  nourished.  See,  then,  if  Plato  and  the  wise  men 
among  the  Greeks,  in  the  beautiful  things  they  say,  are  not 
like  those  physicians  who  confine  their  attentions  to  what  are 
called  the  better  classes  of  society,  and  despise  the  multitude ; 
whereas  the  prophets  among  the  Jews,  and  the  disciples  of 
Jesus,  who  despise  mere  elegances  of  style,  and  what  is  called 
in  Scripture  "  the  wisdom  of  men,"  "  the  wisdom  according  to 
the  flesh,"  which  delights  in  what  is  obscure,  resemble  those 
who  study  to  provide  the  most  wholesome  food  for  the  largest 
number  of  persons.  For  this  purpose  they  adapt  their  lan- 
guage and  style  to  the  capacities  of  the  common  people,  and 
avoid  whatever  would  seem  foreign  to  them,  lest  by  the  intro- 
duction of  strange  forms  of  expression  they  should  produce  a 
distaste  for  their  teaching.  Indeed,  if  the  true  use  of  spiritual 
food,  to  keep  up  the  figure,  is  to  produce  in  him  who  partakes 
of  it  the  virtues  of  patience  and  gentleness,  must  that  discourse 
not  be  better  prepared  when  it  produces  patience  and  gentleness 
in  multitudes,  or  makes  them  grow  in  these  virtues,  than  that 
which  confines  its  effects  to  a  select  few,  supposing  that  it  does 
really  make  them  gentle  and  patient  ?  If  a  Greek  wished  by 
wholesome  instruction  to  benefit  people  who  understood  only 
Egyptian  or  Syriac,  the  first  thing  that  he  would  do  would  be 
to  learn  their  language ;  and  he  would  rather  pass  for  a  bar- 
barian among  the  Greeks,  by  speaking  as  the  Egyptians  or 
Syrians,  in  order  to  be  useful  to  them,  than  always  remain 
Greek,  and  be  without  the  means  of  helping  them.  In  the 
same  way  the  divine  nature,  having  the  purpose  of  instructing 

OEIG. — VOL.  II.  2  H 


482  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vii. 

not  only  those  who  are  reputed  to  be  learned  in  the  literature 
of  Greece,  but  also  the  rest  of  mankind,  accommodated  itself 
to  the  capacities  of  the  simple  multitudes  whom  it  addressed. 
It  seeks  to  win  the  attention  of  the  more  ignorant  by  the  use 
of  language  which  is  familiar  to  them,  so  that  they  may  easily 
be  induced,  after  their  first  introduction,  to  strive  after  an 
acquaintance  with  the  deeper  truths  which  lie  hidden  in  Scrip- 
ture. For  even  the  ordinary  reader  of  Scripture  may  see  that  ! 
it  contains  many  things  which  are  too  deep  to  be  apprehended 
at  first ;  but  these  are  understood  by  such  as  devote  themselves 
to  a  careful  study  of  the  divine  word,  and  they  become  plain 
to  them  in  proportion  to  the  pains  and  zeal  which  they  expend 
upon  its  investigation. 

Chapter  lxt. 

From  these  remarks  it  is  evident,  that  when  Jesus  said 
"  coarsely,"  as  Celsus  terms  it,  "  To  him  who  shall  strike  thee 
on  the  one  cheek,  turn  the  other  also ;  and  if  any  man  be 
minded  to  sue  thee  at  the  law,  and  take  away  thy  coat,  let  him 
have  thy  cloak  also,"^  He  expressed  Himself  in  such  a  way  as 
to  make  the  precept  have  more  practical  effect  than  the  words 
of  Plato  in  the  Crito  ;  for  the  latter  is  so  far  from  being  intel- 
ligible to  ordinary  persons,  that  even  those  have  a  difficulty  in 
understanding  him,  who  have  been  brought  up  in  the  schools  of 
learning,  and  have  been  initiated  into  the  famous  philosophy  of 
Greece.  It  may  also  be  observed,  that  the  precept  enjoining 
patience  under  injuries  is  in  no  way  corrupted  or  degraded  by 
the  plain  and  simple  language  which  our  Lord  employs,  but 
that  in  this,  as  in  other  cases,  it  is  a  mere  calumny  against  our 
religion  which  he  utters  when  he  says  :  "  But  let  this  suffice  as 
one  example  of  the  way  in  which  this  and  other  truths  have 
been  borrowed  and  corrupted.  Any  one  who  wishes  can  easily 
by  searching  find  more  of  them." 

Chapter  lxii. 

Let  us  now  see  what  follows.   "  Let  us  pass  on,"  says  he,  "  to 
another  point.    They  cannot  tolerate  temples,  altars,  or  images. 
In  this  they  are  like  the  Scythians,  the  nomadic  tribes  of  Libya, 
1  Matt.  V.  39,  40. 


Boot  VII.]  OniGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  483 

the  Seres  who  worship  no  god,  and  some  other  of  the  most  bar- 
barous and  impious  nations  in  the  world.  That  the  Persians 
hold  the  same  notions  is  shown  by  Herodotus  in  these  words  :  '  I 
know  that  amonsj  the  Persians  it  is  considered  unlawful  to  erect 
images,  altars,  or  temples ;  but  they  charge  those  with  folly  who 
do  so,  because,  as  I  conjecture,  they  do  not,  like  the  Greeks, 
suppose  the  gods  to  be  of  the  nature  of  men.'  ^  Heraclitus 
also  says  in  one  place :  '  Persons  who  address  prayers  to  these 
images  act  like  those  who  speak  to  the  walls,  without  knowing 
who  the  gods  or  the  heroes  are.'  And  what  wiser  lesson  have 
they  to  teach  us  than  Heraclitus  ?  He  certainly  plainly  enough 
implies  that  it  is  a  foolish  thing  for  a  man  to  offer  prayers  to 
images,  whilst  he  knows  not  who  the  gods  and  heroes  are.  This 
is  the  opinion  of  Heraclitus ;  but  as  for  them,  they  go  further, 
and  despise  without  exception  all  images.  If  they  merely  mean 
that  the  stone,  wood,  brass,  or  gold  which  has  been  wrought  by 
this  or  that  workman  cannot  be  a  god,  they  are  ridiculous  with 
their  wisdom.  For  who,  unless  he  be  utterly  childish  in  his 
simplicity,  can  take  these  for  gods,  and  not  for  offerings  conse- 
crated to  the  service  of  the  gods,  or  images  representing  them  ? 
But  if  we  are  not  to  regard  these  as  representing  the  Divine 
Being,  seeing  that  God  has  a  different  form,  as  the  Persians 
concur  with  them  in  saying,  then  let  them  take  care  that  they 
do  not  contradict  themselves ;  for  they  say  that  God  made  man 
His  own  image,  and  that  He  gave  him  a  form  like  to  Himself. 
However,  they  will  admit  that  these  images,  whether  they  are 
like  or  not,  are  made  and  dedicated  to  the  honour  of  certain 
beings.  But  they  will  hold  that  the  beings  to  whom  they  are 
dedicated  are  not  gods,  but  demons,  and  that  a  worshipper  of 
Gud  ought  not  to  worship  demons." 

Chapter  lxiii. 

To  this  our  answer  is,  that  if  the  Scythians,  the  nomadic 
tribes  of  Libya,  the  Seres,  who  according  to  Celsus  have  no 
god,  if  those  other  most  barbarous  and  impious  nations  in  the 
world,  and  if  the  Persians  even  cannot  bear  the  sight  of  temples, 
altars,  and  images,  it  does  not  follow  because  we  cannot  suffer 
them  any  more  than  they,  that  the  grounds  on  which  we  object 
1  Herod,  i.  131. 


484  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vir. 

to  them  are  the  same  as  theirs.  "We  must  inquire  into  tlie 
principles  on  which  the  objection  to  temples  and  images  is 
founded,  in  order  that  we  may  approve  of  those  who  object  on 
sound  principles,  and  condemn  those  whose  principles  are  false. 
For  one  and  the  same  thing  may  be  done  for  different  reasons. 
For   example,  the    philosophers   who   follow   Zeno   of   Citium 

/  abstain  from  committing  adultery,  the  followers  of  Epicurus  do 
so  too,  as  well  as  others  again  who  do  so  on  no  philosophical 
principles ;  but  observe  what  different  reasons  determine  the 
conduct  of  these  different  classes.  The  first  consider  the  inte- 
rests of  society,  and  hold  it  to  be  forbidden  by  nature  that  a 
man  who  is  a  reasonable  being  should  corrupt  a  woman  whom 
the  laws  have  already  given  to  another,  and  should  thus  break 
up  the  household  of  another  man.  The  Epicureans  do  not 
reason  in  this  way ;  but  if  they  abstain  from  adultery,  it  is 
because,  regarding  pleasure  as  tlie  chief  end  of  man,  tliey  per- 
ceive that  one  who  gives  himself  up  to  adultery,  encounters 
for  the  sake  of  this  one  pleasure  a  multitude  of  obstacles  to 
pleasure,  such  as  imprisonment,  exile,  and  death  itself.  They 
often,  indeed,  run  considerable  risk  at  the  outset,  while  watching 
for  the  departure  from  the  house  of  the  master  and  those  in 
his  interest.  So  that,  supposing  it  possible  for  a  man  to  com- 
mit adultery,  and  escape  the  knowledge  of  the  husband,  of  his 
servants,  and  of  others  whose  esteem  he  would  forfeit,  then  the 
Epicurean  would  yield  to  the  commission  of  the  crime  for  the 
sake  of  pleasure.  The  man  of  no  philosophical  system,  again, 
who  abstains  from  adultery  when  the  opportunity  comes  to  him, 
does  so  generally  from  dread  of  the  law  and  its  penalties,  and  not 
for  the  sake  of  enjoying  a  greater  number  of  other  pleasures. 

I  You  see,  then,  that  an  act  which  passes  for  being  one  and  the 
same — namely,  abstinence  from  adultery — is  not  the  same,  but 

I  differs  in  different  men  according  to  the  motives  which  actuate 
it :  one  man  refraining  for  sound  reasons,  another  for  such  bad 
and  impious  ones  as  those  of  the  Epicurean,  and  the  common 
person  of  whom  we  have  spoken. 

Chapter  lxiv. 

As,  then,  this  act  of  self-restraint,  which  in  appearance  is 
one  and  the  same,  is  found  in  fact  to  be  different  in  different 


Book  VII. J  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  485 

persons,  according  to  the  principles  and  motives  which  lead  to 
it;  so  in  the  same  way  with  those  who  cannot  allow  in  the 
worship  of  the  Divine  Being  altars,  or  temples,  or  images.  The 
Scythians,  the  nomadic  Libyans,  the  godless  Seres,  and  the 
Persians,  agree  in  this  with  the  Christians  and  Jews,  but  they 
are  actuated  by  very  different  principles.  For  none  of  these 
former  abhor  altars  and  images  on  the  ground  that  they  are 
afraid  of  degrading  the  worship  of  God,  and  reducing  it  to 
the  worship  of  material  things  wrought  by  the  hands  of  men. 
Neither  do  they  object  to  them  from  a  belief  that  the  demons 
choose  certain  forms  and  places,  whether  because  they  are 
detained  there  by  virtue  of  certain  charms,  or  because  for  some 
other  possible  reason  they  have  selected  these  haunts,  where 
they  may  pursue  their  criminal  pleasures,  in  partaking  of  the 
smoke  of  sacrificial  victims.  But  Christians  and  Jews  have 
regard  to  this  command,  "  Thou  shalt  fear  the  Lord  thy  God, 
and  serve  Him  alone ;"^  and  this  other,  "Thou  shalt  have  no 
other  gods  before  me :  thou  shalt  not  make  unto  thee  any 
graven  image,  or  any  likeness  of  an3'thing  that  is  in  heaven 
above,  or  that  is  in  the  earth  beneath,  or  that  is  in  the  water 
under  the  earth :  thou  shalt  not  bow  down  thyself  to  them,  nor 
serve  them;"^  and  again,  "Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy 
God,  and  Him  only  shalt  thou  serve."  ^  It  is  in  consideration 
of  these  and  many  other  such  commands,  that  they  not  only 
avoid  temples,  altars,  and  images,  but  are  ready  to  suffer  death 
when  it  is  necessary,  rather  than  debase  by  any  such  impiety 
the  conception  which  they  have  of  the  Most  High  God. 

Chapter  lxv. 

In  regard  to  the  Persians,  we  have  already  said  that  though 
they  do  not  build  temples,  yet  they  worship  the  sun  and  the 
other  works  of  God.  This  is  forbidden  to  us,  for  we  have 
been  taught  not  to  worship  the  creature  instead  of  the  Creator, 
but  to  know  that  "  the  creation  shall  be  delivered  from  the 
bondage  of  corruption  into  the  liberty  of  the  glory  of  the 
children  of  God;"  and  "the  earnest  expectation  of  the  creation 
is  waiting  for  the  revelation  of  the  sons  of  God;"  and  "the 
creation  was  made  subject  to  vanity,  not  willingly,  but  by  reason 
1  Deut.  vi.  13.  2  Ex.  xx.  3,  4.  s  Matt.  iv.  10. 


486  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vir. 

of  him  who  made  it  subject,  in  hope."  ^  We  believe,  therefore, 
that  things  "  under  the  bondage  of  corruption,"  and  "  subject 
to  vanity,"  which  remain  in  this  condition  "in  hope"  of  a 
better  state,  ought  not  in  our  worship  to  hold  the  place  of  God, 
the  all-sufficient,  and  of  His  Son,  the  first-born  of  all  creation. 
Let  this  suffice,  in  addition  to  what  we  have  already  said  of 
the  Persians,  who  abhor  altars  and  images,  but  who  serve  the 
creature  instead  of  the  Creator.  As  to  the  passage  quoted  by 
Celsus  from  Heraclitus,  the  purport  of  which  he  represents  as 
being,  "that  it  is  childish  folly  for  one  to  offer  prayers  to 
images,  whilst  he  knows  not  who  the  gods  and  heroes  are,"  we 
may  reply  that  it  is  easy  to  know  that  God  and  the  only-be- 
gotten Son  of  God,  and  those  whom  God  has  honoured  with 
the  title  of  God,  and  who  partake  of  His  divine  nature,  are 
very  different  from  all  the  gods  of  the  nations  which  are 
demons ;  but  it  is  not  possible  at  the  same  time  to  know  God 
and  to  address  prayers  to  images. 

Chapter  lxvi. 

j  And  the  charge  of  folly  applies  not  only  to  those  who  offer 
prayers  to  images,  but  also  to  such  as  pretend  to  do  so  in  com- 
pliance with  the  example  of  the  multitude  :  and  to  this  class 
belong  the  Peripatetic  philosophers  and  the  followers  of  Epi- 
curus and  Democritus.  For  there  is  no  falsehood  or  pretence 
in  the  soul  which  is  possessed  with  true  piety  towards  God. 
Another  reason  also  why  we  abstain  from  doing  honour  to 
images,  is  that  we  may  give  no  support  to  the  notion  that  the 
images  are  gods.  It  is  on  this  ground  that  we  condemn  Celsus, 
and  all  others  who,  while  admitting  that  they  are  not  gods,  yet, 
with  the  reputation  of  being  wise  men,  render  to  them  what 
passes  for  homage.  In  this  way  they  lead  into  sin  the  multi- 
tude who  follow  their  example,  and  Avho  worship  these  images 
not  simply  out  of  deference  to  custom,  but  from  a  belief  into 
which  they  have  fallen  that  they  are  true  gods,  and  that  those 
are  not  to  be  listened  to  who  hold  that  the  objects  of  their 
worship  are  not  true  gods.  Celsus,  indeed,  says  that  "  they 
do  not  take  them  for  gods,  but  only  as  offerings  dedicated  to 
the  gods."  But  he  does  not  prove  that  they  are  not  rather 
1  Rom.  viii.  19-21. 


Book  VII.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSVS.  487 

dedicated  to  men  than,  as  he  says,  to  the  honour  of  the  gods 
themselves ;  for  it  is  clear  that  they  are  the  offerings  of  men 
who  were  in  error  in  their  views  of  the  Divine  Being.  More- 
over, we  do  not  imagine  that  these  images  are  representations 
of  God,  for  they  cannot  represent  a  being  who  is  invisible  and 
incorporeal.  But  as  Celsus  snpposes  that  we  fall  into  a  con- 
tradiction, whilst  on  the  one  hand  we  say  that  God  has  not  a 
human  form,  and  on  the  other  we  profess  to  believe  that  God 
made  man  the  image  of  Himself,  and  created  man  the  image 
of  God  ;  our  answer  is  the  same  as  has  been  given  already, 
that  we  hold  the  resemblance  to  God  to  be  preserved  in  the 
reasonable  soul,  which  is  formed  to  virtue,  although  Celsus, 
who  does  not  see  the  difference  between  "  beins  the  imase  of 
God,"  and  "  being  created  after  the  image  of  God,"  pretends 
that  we  said,  "  God  made  man  His  own  image,  and  gave  him 
a  form  like  to  His  own."  But  this  also  has  been  examined 
before. 

Chapter  lxvii. 

His  next  remark  upon  the  Christians  is:  "They  will  admit 
that  these  images,  whether  they  are  like  or  not,  are  made  and 
dedicated  to  the  honour  of  certain  beings ;  but  they  will  hold 
that  the  beings  to  whom  they  are  dedicated  are  not  gods,  but 
demons,  and  that  a  worshipper  of  God  ought  not  to  worship 
demons."  If  he  had  been  acquainted  with  the  nature  of  demons, 
and  with  their  several  operations,  whether  led  on  to  them  by  the 
conjurations  of  those  who  are  skilled  in  the  art,  or  urged  on 
by  their  own  inclination  to  act  according  to  their  power  and 
inclination  ;  if,  I  say,  he  had  thoroughly  understood  this  subject, 
which  is  both  wide  in  extent  and  difficult  for  human  compre- 
hension, he  would  not  have  condemned  us  for  saying  that  those 
who  worship  the  Supreme  Being  should  not  serve  demons. 
.For  ourselves,  so  far  are  we  from  wishing  to  serve  demons, 
'that  by  the  use  of  prayers  and  other  means  which  we  learn 
from  Scripture,  we  drive  them  out  of  the  souls  of  men,  out  of 
places  where  they  have  established  themselves,  and  even  some- 
times from  the  bodies  of  animals ;  for  even  these  creatures 
often  suffer  from  injuries  inflicted  upon  them  by  demons. 


488  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vir. 

Chapter  lxviii. 

After  all  that  we  have  already  said  concerning  Jesus,  it 
would  be  a  useless  repetition  for  us  to  answer  these  words  of 
Celsus :  "  It  is  easy  to  convict  them  of  worshipping  not  a  god, 
not  even  demons,  but  a  dead  person."     Leaving,  then,  this  ob- 
jection for  the  reason  assigned,  let  us  pass  on  to  what  follows  : 
*'In  the   first  place,  I  would   ask  why  we  are  not  to  serve 
demons  ?      Is  it  not  true  that  all  things  are  ordered  according 
to  God's  will,  and  that  His   providence  governs  all  things? 
Is  not  everything  which  happens  in  the  universe,  whether  it 
be  the  work  of  God,  of  angels,  of  other  demons,  or  of  heroes, 
regulated  by  the  law  of  the  Most  High  God  ?     Have  these 
not  had  assigned  them  various  departments  of  which  they  were 
severally  deemed  worthy  ?     Is  it  not  just,  therefore,  that  he  who 
worships  God  should  serve  those  also  to  whom  God  has  assigned 
such  power  ?     Yet  it  is  impossible,  he  says,  for  a  man  to  serve 
many  masters."     Observe  here  again  how  he  settles  at  once  a 
number  of  questions  which  require  considerable  research,  and  a 
profound  acquaintance  with  what  is  most  mysterious  in  the 
government  of  the  universe.     For  we  must  inquire  into  the 
j  meaning  of  the  statement,  that  "  all  things  are  ordered  accord- 
I  ing  to  God's  will,"  and  ascertain  whether  sins  are  or  are  not 
'  included  among  the  things  which  God  orders.     For  if  God's 
government  extends  to  sins  not  only  in  men,  but  also  in  demons 
and  in  any  other  spiritual  beings  who  are  capable  of  sin,  it  is 
for  those  who  speak  in  this  manner  to  see  how  inconvenient  is 
the  expression  that  "  all  things  are  ordered  by  the  will  of  God." 
For  it  follows  from  it  that  all  sins  and  all  their  consequences 
are  ordered  by  the  will  of  God,  which  is  a  different  thing  from 
saying  that  they  come  to  pass  with  God's  permission.     For  if 
we  take  the  word  "  ordered "  in  its  proper  signification,  and 
say  that  ''  all  the  results  of  sin  were  ordered,"  then  it  is  evident 
that  all  things  are  ordered  according  to  God's  will,  and  that 
all,  therefore,  who  do  evil  do  not  offend  against  His  government. 
And  the  same  distinction  holds   in   regard   to  ''  providence." 
When  we  say  that  "  the  providence  of  God  regulates  all  things," 
we  utter  a  great  truth  if  we  attribute  to  that  providence  no- 
thing but  what  is  just  and  right.     But  if  we  ascribe  to  the 


Book  vii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  489 

providence  of  God  all  things  whatsoever,  hoveever  unjust  they 
may  be,  then  it  is  no  longer  true  that  the  providence  of  God 
regulates  all  things,  unless  we  refer  directly  to  God's  providence 
thinfrs  which  flow  as  results  from  His  arrangements.  Celsus 
maintains  also,  that  "  whatever  happens  in  the  universe,  whether 
it  be  the  work  of  God,  of  angels,  of  other  demons,  or  of  heroes, 
is  recjulated  bv  the  law  of  the  Most  Hio-h  God."  But  this  also 
is  incorrect ;  for  we  cannot  say  that  transgressors  follow  the  law 
of  God  when  they  transgress  ;  and  Scripture  declares  that  it  is 
not  only  wicked  men  who  are  transgressors,  but  also  wicked 
demons  and  wicked  angels. 

Chapter  lxix. 

And  it  is  not  we  alone  who  speak  of  wicked  demons,  but 
almost  all  who  acknowledge  the  existence  of  demons.  Thus, 
then,  it  is  not  true  that  all  observe  the  law  of  the  jSIost  High  ; 
for  all  who  fall  away  from  the  divine  law,  whether  through 
heedlessness,  or  through  depravity  and  vice,  or  through  igno- 
rance of  what  is  right,  all  such  do  not  keep  the  law  of  God,  but, 
to  use  a  new  phrase  which  we  find  in  Scripture,  "  the  law  of  sin." 
I  say,  then,  that  in  the  opinion  of  most  of  those  who  believe  in 
the  existence  of  demons,  some  of  them  are  wdcked ;  and  these, 
instead  of  keeping  the  law  of  God,  offend  against  it.  But, 
according  to  our  belief,  it  is  true  of  all  demons,  that  they  -were 
not  demons  originally,  but  they  became  so  in  departing  from 
the  true  way ;  so  that  the  name  "  demons  "  is  given  to  those 
beings  who  have  fallen  away  from  God.  Accordingly,  those 
who  worship  God  must  not  serve  demons.  We  may  also  learn 
the  true  nature  of  demons  if  we  consider  the  practice  of  those 
who  call  upon  them  by  charms  to  prevent  certain  things,  or  for 
many  other  purposes.  For  this  is  the  method  they  adopt,  in 
order  by  means  of  incantations  and  magical  arts  to  invoke  the 
demons,  and  induce  them  to  further  their  wishes.  AYherefore 
the  worship  of  all  demons  would  be  inconsistent  in  us  who 
worship  the  supreme  God ;  and  the  service  of  demons  is  the 
service  of  so-called  gods,  for  "  all  the  gods  of  the  heathen  are 
demons."  ^  The  same  thing  also  appears  from  the  fact  that  the 
dedication  of  the  most  famous  of  the  so-called  sacred  places, 
1  Ps.  scvi.  5  (LXX.). 


/ 


490  OBI  GEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vii. 

whether  temples  or  statues,  was  accompanied  by  curious  magical 
incantationSjwliich  were  performed  by  those  who  zealously  served 
the  demons  with  magical  arts.  Hence  we  are  determined  to 
avoid  the  worship  of  demons  even  as  we  would  avoid  death ;  and 
we  hold  that  the  worship,  which  is  supposed  among  the  Greeks 
to  be  rendered  to  gods  at  the  altars,  and  images,  and  temples,  is 
in  reality  offered  to  demons. 

Chapter  lxx. 

His  next  remark  was,  "  Have  not  these  inferior  powers  had 
assigned  to  them  by  God  different  departments,  according  as 
each  was  deemed  worthy  ?  "  But  this  is  a  question  which  re- 
quires a  very  profound  knowledge.  For  we  must  determine 
whether  the  AVord  of  God,  who  governs  all  things,  has  appointed 
wicked  demons  for  certain  employments,  in  the  same  way  as  in 
states  executioners  are  appointed,  and  other  officers  with  cruel 
but  needful  duties  to  discharge ;  or  whether  as  among  robbers, 
who  infest  desert  places,  it  is  customary  for  them  to  choose  out  of 
their  number  one  who  may  be  their  leader, — so  the  demons,  who 
are  scattered  as  it  were  in  troops  in  different  parts  of  the  earth, 
have  chosen  for  themselves  a  chief  under  whose  command  they 
may  plunder  and  pillage  the  souls  of  men.  To  explain  this 
fully,  and  to  justify  the  conduct  of  the  Christians  in  refusing 
homage  to  any  object  except  the  Most  High  God,  and  the 
First-born  of  all  creation,  who  is  His  Word  and  God,  we  must 
quote  this  from  Scripture,  ''  All  that  ever  came  before  me  are 
thieves  and  robbers ;  but  the  sheep  did  not  hear  them  ; "  and 
again,  "  The  thief  cometh  not  but  for  to  steal,  and  to  kill,  and 
to  destroy;"  ^  and  other  similar  passages,  as,  "  Behold,  I  have 
given  you  authority  to  tread  on  cerpents  and  scorpions,  and 
over  all  the  power  of  the  enemy ;  and  nothing  shall  by  any 
means  hurt  you;"^  and  again,  "  Thou  shalt  tread  upon  the 
lion  and  adder :  the  young  lion  and  the  dragon  shalt  thou 
trample  under  feet."  ^  But  of  these  things  Celsus  knew  nothing, 
or  he  would  not  have  made  use  of  language  like  this  :  "  Is  not 
everything  which  happens  in  the  universe,  whether  it  be  the 
work  of  God,  of  angels,  of  other  demons,  or  of  heroes,  regu- 
lated by  the  law  of  the  [Most  High  God  1  Have  these  not 
1  John  X.  8-10.  3  Luke  x.  19.  ^  Ps.  xci.  13. 


Book  vii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  491 

had  assigned  to  them  various  departments  of  \\'hich  they  were 
severally  deemed  worthy?  Is  it  not  just,  therefore,  that  he 
who  serves  God  should  serve  those  also  to  whom  God  has 
assigned  such  power?  "  To  which  he  adds,  "It  is  impossible, 
they  say,  for  a  man  to  serve  many  masters."  This  last  point 
we  must  postpone  to  the  next  book ;  for  this,  which  is  the 
seventh  book  which  we  have  written  in  answer  to  the  treatise 
of  Celsus,  is  already  of  sufficient  length. 


BOOK  VIII. 

CHArTER  I. 

|AVING  completed  seven  books,  I  now  propose  to 
begin  the  eighth.  And  may  God  and  His  only- 
begotten  Son  the  AYord  be  with  us,  to  enable  us 
effectively  to  refute  the  falsehoods  which  Celsus 
has  published  under  the  delusive  title  of  A  True  Discourse^ 
and  at  the  same  time  to  unfold  the  truths  of  Christianity  with 
such  fulness  as  our  purpose  requires.  And  as  Paul  said,  "  AVe 
are  ambassadors  for  Christ,  as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by 
us,"^  so  would  we  in  the  same  spirit  and  language  earnestly 
desire  to  be  ambassadors  for  Christ  to  men,  even  as  the  Word 
of  God  beseeches  them  to  the  love  of  Himself,  seeking  to  win 
over  to  righteousness,  truth,  and  the  other  virtues,  those  who, 
until  they  receive  the  doctrines  of  Jesus  Christ,  live  in  darkness 
about  God  and  in  ignorance  of  their  Creator.  Again,  then,  I 
would  say,  may  God  bestow  upon  us  His  pure  and  true  Word, 
even  "  the  Lord  strong  and  mighty  in  battle"'  against  sin. 
We  must  now  proceed  to  state  the  next  objection  of  Celsus,  and 
afterwards  to  answer  it. 

Chapter  ii. 

In  a  passage  previously  quoted  Celsus  asks  us  why  we  do 
not  worship  demons,  and  to  his  remarks  on  demons  we  gave 
such  an  answer  as  seemed  to  us  in  accordance  with  the  divine 
word.  After  having  put  this  question  for  the  purpose  of  leading 
us  to  the  worship  of  demons,  he  represents  us  as  answering  that 
it  is  impossible  to  serve  many  masters.  "  This,"  he  goes  on  to 
say,  "  is  the  language  of  sedition,  and  is  only  used  by  those  who 
separate  themselves  and  stand  aloof  from  all  human  society. 
Those  who  speak  in  this  way  ascribe,"  as  he  supposes,  "  their 
1  2  Cor.  V.  20.  -'  Ps.  xxiv.  8. 

492 


BooKvm.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  493 

own  feelings  and  passions  to  God.  It  does  hold  true  among 
men,  that  he  who  is  in  the  service  of  one  master  cannot  well 
serve  another,  because  the  service  which  he  renders  to  the  one 
interferes  with  that  which  he  owes  to  the  other ;  and  no  one, 
therefore,  who  has  already  engaged  himself  to  the  service  of  one, 
must  accept  that  of  another.  And,  in  like  manner,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  serve  at  the  same  time  heroes  or  demons  of  different 
natures.  But  in  regard  to  God,  who  is  subject  to  no  suffering 
or  loss,  it  is, "  he  thinks,  "  absurd  to  be  on  our  guard  against 
serving  more  gods,  as  though  we  had  to  do  with  demi-gods, 
or  other  spirits  of  that  sort."  He  says  also,  "  He  who  serves 
many  gods  does  that  which  is  pleasing  to  the  Most  High, 
because  he  honours  that  which  belongs  to  Him."  And  he  adds, 
"  It  is  indeed  wrong  to  give  honour  to  any  to  whom  God  has 
not  given  honour."  '•  "Wherefore,"  he  says,  "  in  honouring  and 
worshipping  all  belonging  to  God,  we  will  not  displease  Him  to 
whom  they  all  belong." 

Chapter  hi. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  next  point,  it  may  be  well  for  us  to 
see  whether  "\ve  do  not  accept  with  approval  the  saying,  "  No 
man  can  serve  two  masters,"  with  the  addition,  "  for  either  he 
will  hate  the  one,  and  love  the  other ;  or  else  he  will  hold  to  the 
one,  and  despise  the  other,"  and  further,  "  Ye  cannot  serve  God 
and  mammon."^  The  defence  of  this  passage  will  lead  us  to 
a  deeper  and  more  searching  inquiry  into  the  meaning  and 
application  of  the  Avords  "  gods  "  and  "  lords."  Divine  Scrip- 
ture teaches  us  that  there  is  "  a  great  Lord  above  all  gods."' 
And  by  this  name  "  gods"  we  are  not  to  understand  the  objects 
of  heathen  worship  (for  we  know  that  "  all  the  gods  of  the 
heathen  are  demons"'^),  but  the  gods  mentioned  by  the  prophets 
as  forming  an  assembly,  whom  God  "  judges,"  and  to  each  of 
whom  He  assigns  his  proper  work.  For  "  God  standeth  in  the 
assembly  of  the  gods  :  He  judgeth  among  the  gods."'*  For 
"  God  is  Lord  of  gods,"  who  by  His  Son  "  hath  called  the  earth 
from  the  rising  of  the  sun  mito  the  going  down  thereof."^  We 
are  also  commanded  to  "give  thanks  to  the  God  of  gods."^ 

1  Matt.  vi.  24,  2  Ps.  xcvii.  9.  ^  pg  ^cvi.  5. 

*  Ps.  Ixxxii.  1.  ^  Ps.  1.  1.  ^  Ps.  cxxxvi.  2. 


494  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viir. 

Moreover,  we  are  taught  that  "  God  is  not  the  God  of  the 
dead,  but  of  the  living."^  Nor  are  these  the  only  passages  to 
this  effect ;  but  there  are  very  many  others. 

Chapter  iv. 

The  sacred  Scriptures  teach  us  to  think,  in  like  manner,  of 
the  Lord  of  lords.  For  they  say  in  one  place,  "  Give  thanks  to 
the  God  of  gods,  for  His  mercy  endureth  for  ever.  Give 
thanks  to  the  Lord  of  lords,  for  His  mercy  endureth  for  ever  ;" 
and  in  anothei',  "  God  is  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords." 
For  Scripture  distinguishes  between  those  gods  which  are  such  \J 
only  in  name  and  those  which  are  truly  gods,  whether  they  are  \ 
called  by  that  name  or  not ;  and  the  same  is  true  in  regard  to 
the  use  of  the  word  "  lords."  To  this  effect  Paul  says,  "  For 
though  there  be  that  are  called  gods,  whether  in  heaven  or  in 
earth,  as  there  are  gods  many,  and  lords  many."^  But  as  the 
God  of  gods  calls  whom  He  pleases  through  Jesus  to  his  in- 
heritance, "  from  the  east  and  from  the  west,"  and  the  Christ 
of  God  thus  shows  His  superiority  to  all  rulers  by  entering  into 
their  several  provinces,  and  summoning  men  out  of  them  to 
be  subject  to  Himself,  Paul  therefore,  with  this  in  view^,  goes  on  , 
to  say,  "  But  to  us  there  is  but  one  God,  the  Father,  of  whom  [ 
are  all  things,  and  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  are  all  / 
things,  and  we  by  Him ;"  adding,  as  if  with  a  deep  sense  of  the 
marvellous  and  mysterious  nature  of  the  doctrine,  "  Howbeit, 
there  is  not  in  every  man  that  knowledge."  When  he  says, 
"  To  us  there  is  but  one  God,  the  Father,  of  whom  are  all 
things ;  and  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  are  all  things," 
by  "  us"  he  means  himself  and  all  those  who  have  risen  up 
to  the  supreme  God  of  gods  and  to  the  supreme  Lord  of 
lords.  Now  he  has  risen  to  the  supreme  God  who  gives  Him 
an  entire  and  undivided  worship  through  His  Son — the  word 
and  wisdom  of  God  made  manifest  in  Jesus.  For  it  is  the  Son 
alone  who  leads  to  God  those  who  are  striving,  by  the  purity 
of  their  thoughts,  words,  and  deeds,  to  come  near  to  God  the 
Creator  of  the  universe.  I  think,  therefore,  that  the  prince  of 
this  world,  who  "  transforms  himself  into  an  angel  of  light,"  ^ 
was  referrinfif  to  this  and  such  like  statements  in  the  words, 
1  Matt.  xxii.  32.  -  1  Cor.  viii.  5,  etc.  ^  2  Cor.  xi.  14. 


Book  VIII.]  OrJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  495 

"  Him  follows  a  host  of  gods  and  demons,  arranged  in  eleven 
bands."  Speaking  of  himself  and  the  philosophers,  he  says, 
"  We  are  of  the  party  of  Jupiter ;  others  belong  to  other 
demons."  ^ 

Chapter  v. 

Whilst  there  are  thus  many  gods  and  lords,  whereof  some  are 
such  in  reality,  and  others  are  such  only  in  name,  we  strive  to 
rise  not  only  above  those  whom  the  nations  of  the  earth  worship 
as  gods,  but  also  beyond  those  spoken  of  as  gods  in  Scripture,  of 
whom  they  are  wholly  ignorant  who  are  strangers  to  the  cove- 
nants of  God  given  by  Moses  and  by  our  Saviour  Jesus,  and 
who  have  no  part  in  the  promises  which  He  has  made  to  us 
through  them.  That  man  rises  above  all  demon-worship  who 
does  nothing  that  is  pleasing  to  demons ;  and  he  rises  to  a 
blessedness  beyond  that  of  those  whom  Paul  calls  "  gods,"'  if  he 
is  enabled,  like  them,  or  in  any  way  he  may,  "  to  look  not  at  the 
things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things  which  are  unseen." 
And  he  who  considers  that  "  the  earnest  expectation  of  the 
creature  waiteth  for  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God,  not 
wilHngly,  but  by  reason  of  him  who  subjected  the  same  in  hope," 
whilst  he  praises  the  creature,  and  sees  how  "  it  shall  be  freed 
altogether  from  the  bondage  of  corruption,  and  restored  to  the 
glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God," " — such  a  one  cannot  be 
induced  to  combine  with  the  service  of  God  the  service  of  any 
other,  or  to  serve  two  masters.  There  is  therefore  nothing 
seditious  or  factious  in  the  lancjuage  of  those  who  hold  these 
views,  and  who  refuse  to  serve  more  masters  than  one.  To 
them  Jesus  Christ  is  an  all-sufficient  Lord,  who  Himself  in- 
structs them,  in  order  that  when  fully  instructed  He  may  form 
them  into  a  kingdom  worthy  of  God,  and  present  them  to  God 
the  Father.  But  indeed  they  do  in  a  sense  separate  themselves 
and  stand  aloof  from  those  who  are  aliens  from  the  common- 
wealth of  God  and  strangers  to  His  covenants,  in  order  that 
they  may  live  as  citizens  of  heaven,  ''  coming  to  the  living  God, 
and  to  the  city  of  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to  an 
innumerable  company  of  angels,  to  the  general  assembly  and 
church  of  the  fii'st-born,  which  are  written  in  heaven."  ^ 

1  Plato,  PJixdrus,  p.  246.        -  Born.  viii.  19,  20.        ^  Heb.  xii.  22,  23. 


496  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Booe  viii. 


Chapter  yi. 

But  v/hen  we  refuse  to  serve  any  other  than  God  through 
His  word  and  wisdom,  we  do  so,  not  as  though  we  would  thereby 
be  doing  any  harm  or  injury  to  God,  in  the  same  way  as 
injury  would  be  done  to  a  man  by  his  servant  entering  into 
the  service  of  another,  but  we  fear  that  we  ourselves  should 
suffer  harm  by  depriving  ourselves  of  our  portion  in  God, 
through  which  we  live  in  the  participation  of  the  divine 
blessedness,  and  are  imbued  with  that  excellent  spirit  of 
adoption  which  in  the  sons  of  the  heavenly  Father  cries,  not 
with  words,  but  with  deep  effect  in  the  inmost  heart,  "  Abba, 
Father."  The  Lacedsemonian  ambassadors,  when  brought  before 
the  king  of  Persia,  refused  to  prostrate  themselves  before  him, 
when  the  attendants  endeavoured  to  compel  them  to  do  so,  out 
of  respect  for  that  which  alone  had  authority  and  lordship  over 
them,  namely,  the  law  of  Lycurgus.^  But  they  who  have  a  much 
greater  and  diviner  embassy  in  "  being  ambassadors  for  Christ" 
should  not  worship  any  ruler  among  Persians,  or  Greeks,  or 
Egyptians,  or  of  any  nation  whatever,  even  although  their 
officers  and  ministers,  demons  and  angels  of  the  devil,  should 
seek  to  compel  them  to  do  so,  and  should  urge  them  to  set  at 
nought  a  law  which  is  mightier  than  all  the  laws  upon  earth. 
For  the  Lord  of  those  who  are  "  ambassadors  for  Christ "  is 
Christ  Himself,  whose  ambassadors  they  are,  and  who  is  "  the 
Word,  who  was  in  the  beginning,  was  with  God,  and  was  God."" 

Chapter  vii. 

But  when  Celsus  speaks  of  heroes  and  demons,  he  starts  a 
deeper  question  than  he  is  awaie  of.  For  after  the  statement 
which  he  made  in  regard  to  service  among  men,  that  "  the  first 
master  is  injured  when  any  of  his  servants  wishes  at  the  same 
time  to  serve  another,"  he  adds,  that  "  the  same  holds  true  of 
heroes,  and  other  demons  of  that  kind."  Now  we  must  in- 
quire of  him  what  nature  he  thinks  those  heroes  and  demons 
possess  of  whom  he  affirms  that  he  who  serves  one  hero  may 
not  serve  another,  and  he  who  serves  one  demon  may  not  sei've 
another,  as  though  the  former  hero  or  demon  would  be  injured 
1  Herod,  vii.  136.  2  John  i.  1. 


Book  VIII.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSVS.  497 

in  the  same  way  as  men  are  injured  when  they  who  serve  them 
first  afterwards  give  themselves  to  the  service  of  others.  Let 
him  also  state  what  loss  he  supposes  those  heroes  or  demons 
will  suffer.  For  he  will  be  driven  either  to  plunge  into  endless 
absurdities,  and  first  repeat,  then  retract  his  previous  statements ; 
or  else  to  abandon  his  frivolous  conjectures,  and  confess  that 
he  understands  nothing  of  the  nature  of  heroes  and  demons. 
And  in  regard  to  his  statement,  that  men  suffer  injury  when 
the  servant  of  one  man  enters  the  service  of  a  second  master, 
the  question  arises:  '•  What  is  the  nature  of  the  injury  which  is 
done  to  the  former  master  by  a  servant  who,  while  serving  him, 
wishes  at  the  same  time  to  serve  another  ?  " 

Chapter  viii. 

For  if  he  answers,  as  one  who  is  unlearned  and  ignorant 
of  philosophy,  that  the  injury  sustained  is  one  which  regards 
things  that  are  outside  of  us,  it  will  be  plainly  manifest  that 
he  knows  nothing  of  that  famous  saying  of  Socrates,  "  Anytus 
and  Melitus  may  kill  me,  but  they  cannot  injure  me  ;  for  it  is 
impossible  that  the  better  should  ever  be  injured  by  the  worse." 
But  if  by  injury  he  means  a  wicked  impulse  or  an  evil  habit,  it 
is  plain  that  no  injury  of  this  kind  would  befall  the  wise,  by  one 
man  serving  two  wise  men  in  different  places.  If  this  sense 
does  not  suit  his  purpose,  it  is  evident  that  his  endeavours  are 
vain  to  weaken  the  authority  of  the  passage,  "  No  man  can 
serve  two  masters;"  for  these  words  can  be  perfectly  true  only 
when  they  refer  to  the  service  which  we  render  to  the  Most 
High  through  His  Son,  w^ho  leadeth  us  to  God.     xVnd  we  will 

I  not  serve  God  as  though  He  stood  in  need  of  our  service,  or 
as  though  He  would  be  made  unhappy  if  we  ceased  to  serve 
Him ;  but  we  do  it  because  we  are  ourselves  benefited  by  the 
service  of  God,  and  because  we  are  freed  from  griefs  and 

.troubles  by  serving  the  Most  High  God  through  His  only 
begotten  Son,  the  Word  and  Wisdom. 

Chapter  ix. 

And  observe  the  recklessness  of  that  expression,  "  For  if 
thou  worship  any  other  of  the  things  in  the  universe,"  as  though 
he  would  have  us  believe  that  we  are  led  by  our  service  of  God 

ORIG. VOL.  II.  2  I 


498  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viii. 

to  the  worship  of  any  other  things  which  belong  to  God,  without 
any  injury  to  ourselves.  But,  as  if  feeling  his  error,  he  corrects 
the  words,  "  If  thou  worship  any  other  of  the  things  in  the 
universe,"  by  adding,  "  We  may  honour  none,  however,  except 
those  to  whom  that  right  has  been  given  by  God."  And  we 
would  put  to  Celsus  this  question  in  regard  to  those  who  are 
honoured  as  gods,  as  demons,  or  as  heroes  :  "  Now,  sir,  can  you 
prove  that  the  right  to  be  honoured  has  been  given  to  these 
by  God,  and  that  it  has  not  arisen  from  the  ignorance  and 
folly  of  men  who  in  their  wanderings  have  fallen  away  from 
Him  to  whom  alone  worship  and  service  are  properly  due? 
You  said  a  little  ago,  O  Celsus,  that  Antinous,  the  favourite 
of  Adrian,  is  honoured ;  but  surely  you  will  not  say  that  the 
right  to  be  worshipped  as  a  god  was  given  to  him  by  the  God 
of  the  universe  ?  And  so  of  the  others,  we  ask  proof  that  the 
right  to  be  worshipped  was  given  to  them  by  the  Most  High 
God."  But  if  the  same  question  is  put  to  us  in  regard  to  the 
worship  of  Jesus,  we  will  show  that  the  right  to  be  honoured 
was  given  to  Him  by  God,  "  that  all  may  honour  the  Son,  even 
as  they  honour  the  Father."  ^  For  all  the  prophecies  which 
preceded  His  birth  were  preparations  for  His  worship.  And 
the  wonders  which  He  wrought — through  no  magical  art,  as 
Celsus  supposes,  but  by  a  divine  power,  which  was  foretold  by 
the  prophets — have  served  as  a  testimony  from  God  in  behalf 
of  the  worship  of  Christ.  He  who  honours  the  Son,  who  is 
the  Word  and  Reason,  acts  in  nowise  contrary  to  reason,  and 
gains  for  himself  great  good ;  he  who  honours  Him,  who  is  the 
Truth,  becomes  better  by  honouring  truth :  and  this  we  may 
say  of  honouring  wisdom,  righteousness,  and  all  the  other 
names  by  which  the  sacred  Scriptures  are  wont  to  designate  the 
Son  of  God. 

Chapter  x. 

But  that  the  honour  which  we  pay  to  the  Son  of  God,  as 
well  as  that  which  we  render  to  God  the  Father,  consists  of  an 
upright  course  of  life,  is  plainly  taught  us  by  the  passage,  "  Thou 
that  makest  thy  boast  of  the  law,  through  breaking  the  law 
dishonourest  thou  God  ? "  ^  and  also,  "  Of  how  much  sorer 
1  John  V.  23.  '^  Rom.  ii.  23. 


Book  viii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  499 

punishment,  suppose  ye,  shall  he  be  thought  worthy,  who  hath 
trodden  under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  hath  counted  the  blood 
of  the  covenant,  wherewith  he  was  sanctified,  an  unholy  thing, 
and  hath  done  despite  unto  the  Spirit  of  grace  ?  "  ^  For  if  he  who 
transgresses  the  law  dishonours  God  by  his  transgression,  and 
he  who  treads  under  foot  the  word  treads  under  foot  the  Son 
of  God,  it  is  evident  that  he  who  keeps  the  law  honours  God, 
and  that  the  worshipper  of  God  is  he  whose  life  is  regulated  by 
the  principles  and  precepts  of  the  divine  word.  Had  Celsus 
known  who  they  are  who  are  God's  people,  and  that  they  alone 
are  wise, — and  who  they  are  who  are  strangers  to  God,  and  that 
these  are  all  the  wicked  who  have  no  desire  to  give  themselves 
to  virtue, — he  would  have  considered  before  he  gave  expression 
to  the  words,  "  How  can  he  who  honours  any  of  those  whom 
God  acknowledges  as  His  own  be  displeasing  to  God,  to  whom 
they  all  belong  ?  " 

Chapter  xi. 

He  adds,  '•'  And  indeed  he  w^ho,  when  speaking  of  God, 
asserts  that  there  is  only  one  who  may  be  called  Lord,  speaks 
impiously,  for  he  divides  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  raises  a  sedi- 
tion therein,  implying  that  there  are  separate  factions  in  the 
divine  kingdom,  and  that  there  exists  one  who  is  His  enemy." 
He  might  speak  after  this  fashion,  if  he  could  prove  by  con- 
clusive arguments  that  those  who  are  worshipped  as  gods  by 
the  heathens  are  truly  gods,  and  not  merely  evil  spirits,  which 
are  supposed  to  haunt  statues  and  temples  and  altars.  But 
we  desire  not  only  to  understand  the  nature  of  that  divine  king- 
dom of  which  we  are  continually  speaking  and  WTiting,  but 
also  ourselves  to  be  of  those  who  are  under  the  rule  of  God 
alone,  so  that  the  kingdom  of  God  may  be  ours.  Celsus,  how- 
ever, who  teaches  us  to  worship  many  gods,  ought  in  consist- 
ency not  to  speak  of  "  the  kingdom  of  God,"  but  of  "  the 
kingdom  of  the  gods."  There  are  therefore  no  factions  in  the 
kingdom  of  God,  nor  is  there  any  god  who  is  an  adversary  to 
Him,  although  there  are  some  who,  like  the  giants  and  Titans, 
in  their  wickedness  wash  to  contend  with  God  in  company  with 
Celsus,  and  those  who  declare  war  against  Him  who  has  by  in- 

1  Heb.  X.  29. 


500  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vih. 

numerable  proofs  established  the  claims  of  Jesus,  and  against 
Him  who,  as  the  Word,  did,  for  the  salvation  of  our  race,  show 
Himself  before  all  the  world  in  such  a  form  as  each  was  able 
to  receive  Him. 

Chapter  xii. 

In  what  follows,  some  may  imagine  that  he  says  something 
plausible  against  us.  "  If,"  says  he,  "  these  people  worshipped 
one  God  alone,  and  no  other,  they  would  perhaps  have  some 
valid  argument  against  the  worship  of  others.  But  they  pay 
excessive  reverence  to  one  who  has  but  lately  appeared  among 
men,  and  they  think  it  no  offence  against  God  if  they  worship 
also  His  servant."  To  this  we  reply,  that  if  Celsus  had  known 
that  saying,  "I  and  my  Father  are  one,"^  and  the  words  used 
in  prayer  by  the  Son  of  God,  "  As  Thou  and  I  are  one,"  ^  he 
would  not  have  supposed  that  we  worship  any  other  besides 
Him  who  is  the  supreme  God.  "  For,"  says  He,  "  my  Father 
is  in  me,  and  I  in  Him."'^  And  if  any  should  from  these  words 
be  afraid  of  our  going  over  to  the  side  of  those  who  deny  that 
the  Father  and  the  Son  are  two  persons,  let  him  weigh  that 
passage,  "  And  the  multitude  of  them  that  believed  were  of  one 
heart  and  of  one  soul,"^  that  he  may  understand  the  meaning  of 
the  saying,  "I  and  my  Father  are  one."  We  worship  one  God, 
the  Father  and  the  Son,  therefore,  as  we  have  explained  ;  and  our 
argument  against  the  worship  of  other  gods  still  continues  valid. 
And  we  do  not  "  reverence  beyond  measure  one  who  has  but 
lately  appeared,"  as  though  He  did  not  exist  before ;  for  we 
believe  Himself  when  He  says,  "Before  Abraham  was,  I  am."^ 
Again  He  says,  "I  am  the  truth  ;"^  and  surely  none  of  us  is 
so  simple  as  to  suppose  that  truth  did  not  exist  before  the  time 
when  Christ  appeared.  We  worship,  therefore,  the  Father  of 
truth,  and  the  Son,  who  is  the  truth  ;  and  these,  while  they 
are  two,  considered  as  persons  or  subsistences,  are  one  in  unity 
of  thought,  in  harmony  and  in  identity  of  will.  So  entirely  are 
they  one,  that  he  who  has  seen  the  Son,  "  who  is  the  bright- 
ness of  God's  glory,  and  the  express  image  of  His  person," '  has 
seen  in  Him  who  is  the  image  of  God,  God  Himself. 

*  John  X.  30.         2  John  xvii.  22.         ^  John  xiv.  11,  and  xvii.  21. 

*  Acts  iv,  32.        «  John  viii.  68.  ^  jobu  xiv.  6.  ^  Heb.  i.  3. 


Book  viii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  501 

Chapter  xiii. 
He  further  supposes,  that  "  because  we  join  along  with  the 
worship  of  God  the  worship  of  His  Son,  it  follows  that,  in  our 
view,  not  only  God,  but  also  the  servants  of  God,  are  to  be 
worshipped."  If  he  had  meant  this  to  apply  to  those  who  are 
truly  the  servants  of  God,  after  His  only-begotten  Son, — to 
Gabriel  and  Michael,  and  the  other  angels  and  archangels, — 
and  if  he  had  said  of  these  that  they  ought  to  be  worshipped, 
— if  also  he  had  clearly  defined  the  meaning  of  the  word  "wor- 
ship," and  the  duties  of  the  worshippers, — we  might  perhaps  have 
broucrht  forward  such  thouirhts  as  have  occurred  to  us  on  so 
important  a  subject.  But  as  he  reckons  among  the  servants 
of  God  the  demons  which  are  worshipped  by  the  heathen,  he 
cannot  induce  us,  on  the  plea  of  consistency,  to  worship  such  as 
are  declared  by  the  word  to  be  servants  of  the  evil  one,  the 
prince  of  this  world,  who  leads  astray  from  God  as  many  as 
he  can.  We  decline,  therefore,  altogether  to  worship  and  serve 
those  whom  other  men  worship,  for  the  reason  that  they  are 
not  servants  of  God.  For  if  we  had  been  taught  to  regard 
them  as  servants  of  the  Most  High,  we  would  not  have  called 
them  demons.  Accordingly,  we  worship  with  all  our  power 
the  one  God,  and  His  only  Son,  the  AVord  and  the  Image  of 
God,  by  prayers  and  supplications  ;  and  we  offer  our  petitions 
to  the  God  of  the  universe  through  His  only-begotten  Son. 
To  the  Son  we  first  present  them,  and  beseech  Him,  as  "  the 
propitiation  for  our  sins,"^  and  our  High  Priest,  to  offer  our 
desires,  and  sacrifices,  and  prayers,  to  the  Most  High.  Our 
faith,  therefore,  is  directed  to  God  through  His  Son,  who 
strencrthens  it  in  us  ;  and  Celsus  can  never  show  that  the  Son 
of  God  is  the  cause  of  any  sedition  or  disloyalty  in  the  king- 
dom of  God.  We  honour  the  Father  when  we  admire  His 
Son,  the  Word,  and  Wisdom,  and  Truth,  and  Eighteousness,  and 
all  that  He  who  is  the  Son  of  so  great  a  Father  is  said  in  Scrip- 
ture to  be.     So  much  on  this  point. 

Chapter  xiv. 

Again  Celsus  proceeds  :  "  If  you  should  tell  them  that  Jesus 
is  not  the  Son  of  God,  but  that  God  is  the  Father  of  all,  and 

1  1  John  ii.  2. 


502  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viii. 

that  He  alone  ought  to  be  truly  worshipped,  they  would  not 
consent  to  discontinue  their  worship  of  him  who  is  their  leader 
in  the  sedition.  And  they  call  him  Son  of  God,  not  out  of 
any  extreme  reverence  for  God,  but  from  an  extreme  desire  to 
extol  Jesus  Christ."  We,  however,  have  learned  who  the  Son 
of  God  is,  and  know  that  He  is  "  the  brightness  of  His  glory, 
and  the  express  image  of  His  person,"  and  "  the  breath  of  the 
power  of  God,  and  a  pure  influence  flowing  from  the  glory  of 
the  Almighty  ;"  moreover,  "  the  brightness  of  the  everlasting 
light,  the  unspotted  mirror  of  the  power  of  God,  and  the  image 
of  His  goodness."^  We  know,  therefore,  that  He  is  the  Son  of 
God,  and  that  God  is  His  Father.  And  there  is  nothing  ex- 
travagant or  unbecoming  the  character  of  God  in  the  doctrine 
that  He  should  have  begotten  such  an  only  Son ;  and  no  one 
will  persuade  us  that  such  a  one  is  not  a  Son  of  the  unbe- 
gotten  God  and  Father.  If  Celsus  has  heard  something  of 
certain  persons  holding  that  the  Son  of  God  is  not  the  Son  of 
the  Creator  of  the  universe,  that  is  a  matter  which  lies  between 
him  and  the  supporters  of  such  an  opinion.  Jesus  is,  then, 
not  the  leader  of  any  seditious  movement,  but  the  promoter  of 
peace.  For  He  said  to  His  disciples,  "  Peace  I  leave  with  you, 
my  peace  I  give  unto  you  ;"  and  as  He  knew  that  it  would  be 
men  of  the  world,  and  not  men  of  God,  who  would  wage  war 
against  us,  he  added,  "  Not  as  the  world  giveth  peace,  do  I  give 
peace  unto  you."^  And  even  although  we  are  oppressed  in  the 
world,  we  have  confidence  in  Him  who  said,  "  In  the  world  ye 
shall  have  tribulation  ;  but  be  of  good  cheer,  I  have  overcome 
the  world."  And  it  is  He  whom  we  call  Son  of  God — Son  of 
that  God,  namely,  whom,  to  quote  the  words  of  Celsus,  "  we 
most  highly  reverence ;"  and  He  is  the  Son  who  has  been  most 
highly  exalted  by  the  Father.  Grant  that  there  may  be  some 
individuals  amono;  the  multitudes  of  believers  who  are  not  in 
entire  agreement  with  us,  and  who  incautiously  assert  that  the 
Saviour  is  the  Most  High  God  ;  however,  we  do  not  hold  with 
them,  but  rather  believe  Him  when  He  says,  "  The  Father  who 
sent  me  is  greater  than  I."^  We  would  not  therefore  make 
Him  whom  we  call  Father  inferior — as  Celsus  accuses  us  of 
doing — to  the  Son  of  God. 

1  Wisd.  vii.  25,  20.  ^  John  xiv.  27.  ^  JqJjq  xiy.  28. 


BooiiviiiJ  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  603 

Chapter  xv. 

Celsus  goes  on  to  say  :  "  That  I  may  give  a  true  representa- 
tion of  their  faith,  I  will  use  their  own  words,  as  given  in  what 
is  called  A  Heavenly  Dialogue :  '  If  the  Son  is  mightier  than 
God,  and  the  Son  of  man  is  Lord  over  Him,  who  else  than 
the  Son  can  be  Lord  over  that  God  who  is  the  ruler  over  all 
things  ?  Plow  comes  it,  that  while  so  many  go  about  the  well, 
no  one  goes  down  into  it  ?  Why  art  thou  afraid  when  thou 
hast  gone  so  far  on  the  way  ?  Answer :  Thou  art  mistaken, 
for  I  lack  neither  courage  nor  weapons.'  Is  it  not  evident, 
then,  that  their  views  are  precisely  such  as  I  have  described 
them  to  be  ?  They  suppose  that  another  God,  who  is  above 
the  heavens,  is  the  Father  of  him  whom  with  one  accord  they 
honour,  that  they  may  honour  this  Son  of  man  alone,  whom 
they  exalt  under  the  form  and  name  of  the  great  God,  and 
whom  they  assert  to  be  stronger  than  God,  who  rules  the  world, 
and  that  he  rules  over  Him.  And  hence  that  maxim  of  theirs, 
'  It  is  impossible  to  serve  two  masters,'  is  maintained  for  the 
purpose  of  keeping  up  the  party  who  are  on  the  side  of  this 
Lord."  Plere,  again,  Celsus  quotes  opinions  from  some  most 
obscure  sect  of  heretics,  and  ascribes  them  to  all  Christians. 
I  call  it  "  a  most  obscure  sect ; "  for  although  we  have  often 
contended  with  heretics,  yet  we  are  unable  to  discover  from 
what  set  of  opinions  he  has  taken  this  passage,  if  indeed  he 
has  quoted  it  from  any  author,  and  has  not  rather  concocted  it 
himself,  or  added  it  as  an  inference  of  his  own.  For  we  who 
say  that  the  visible  world  is  under  the  government  of  Him 
who  created  all  things,  do  thereby  declare  that  the  Son  is  not 
mightier  than  the  Father,  but  inferior  to  Him.  And  this 
belief  we  ground  on  the  saying  of  Jesus  Himself,  "  The  Father 
who  sent  me  is  greater  than  I."  And  none  of  us  is  so  insane 
as  to  affirm  that  the  Son  of  man  is  Lord  over  God.  But  when 
we  regard  the  Saviour  as  God  the  Word,  and  Wisdom,  and 
Righteousness,  and  Truth,  we  certainly  do  say  that  He  ha5 
dominion  over  all  things  which  have  been  subjected  to  Him  in 
this  capacity,  but  not  that  His  dominion  extends  over  the  God 
and  Father  who  is  Euler  over  all.  Besides,  as  the  Word  rules 
over  none  against  their  will,  there  are  still  wicked  beings — not 


504  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.         [Book  viii. 

only  men,  but  also  angels,  and  all  demons — over  whom  we  say 
that  in  a  sense  He  does  not  rule,  since  they  do  not  yield  Him 
a  willing  obedience  ;  but,  in  another  sense  of  the  word.  He  rules 
even  over  them,  in  the  same  way  as  we  say  that  man  rules  over 
the  irrational  animals, — not  by  persuasion,  but  as  one  who  tames 
and  subdues  lions  and  beasts  of  burden.  Nevertheless,  He 
leaves  no  means  untried  to  persuade  even  those  who  are  still 
disobedient  to  submit  to  His  authority.  So  far  as  we  are  con- 
cerned, therefore,  we  deny  the  truth  of  that  which  Celsus 
quotes  as  one  of  our  sayings,  "  Who  else  than  He  can  be  Lord 
over  Him  who  is  God  over  all?" 

Chapter  xvi. 

The  remaining  part  of  the  extract  given  by  Celsus  seems  to 
have  been  taken  from  some  other  form  of  heresy,  and  the  whole 
jumbled  together  in  strange  confusion  :  "  How  is  it,  that  while 
so  many  go  about  the  well,  no  one  goes  down  into  it  ?  Why 
dost  thou  shrink  with  fear  when  thou  hast  gone  so  far  on  the 
way?  Answer:  Thou  art  mistaken,  for  I  lack  neither  courage 
nor  weapons."  We  who  belong  to  the  church  which  takes  its 
name  from  Christ,  assert  that  none  of  these  statements  are  true. 
For  he  seems  to  have  made  them  simply  that  they  might  har- 
monize with  what  he  had  said  before ;  but  they  have  no  reference 
to  us.  For  it  is  a  principle  with  us,  not  to  worship  any  god  whom 
we  merely  "  suppose"  to  exist,  but  Him  alone  who  is  the  Creator 
of  this  universe,  and  of  all  things  besides  which  are  unseen  by 
the  eye  of  sense.  These  remarks  of  Celsus  may  apply  to  those 
who  go  on  another  road  and  tread  other  paths  from  us, — men 
who  deny  the  Creator,  and  make  to  themselves  another  god 
under  a  new  form,  having  nothing  but  the  name  of  God,  whom 
they  esteem  higher  than  the  Creator ;  and  with  these  may  be 
joined  any  that  there  may  be  who  say  that  the  Son  is  greater 
than  the  God  who  rules  all  things.  In  reference  to  the  precept 
that  we  ought  not  to  serve  two  masters,  we  have  already  shown 
what  appears  to  us  the  principle  contained  in  it,  when  Ave  proved 
that  no  sedition  or  disloyalty  could  be  charged  against  the  fol- 
lowers of  Jesus  their  Lord,  who  confess  that  they  reject  every 
other  lord,  and  serve  Him  alone  who  is  the  Son  and  Word  of 
God. 


Book  viii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  505 

Chapter  xvip. 

Celsus  then  proceeds  to  say  that  "  we  shrink  from  raising 
altars,  statues,  and  temples  ;  and  this,"  he  thinks^  "  has  been 
agreed  upon  among  us  as  the  badge  or  distinctive  mark  of  a 
secret  and  forbidden  society."  He  does  not  perceive  that  we 
regard  the  spirit  of  every  good  man  as  an  altar  from  which 
arises  an  incense  which  is  truly  and  spiritually  sweet-smelling, 
namely,  the  prayers  ascending  from  a  pure  conscience.  There- 
fore it  is  said  by  John  in  the  Revelation,  "  The  odours  are  the 
prayers  of  saints ;  "  ^  and  by  the  Psalmist,  "  Let  my  prayer 
come  up  before  Thee  as  incense." ""  And  the  statues  and  gifts 
which  are  fit  offerings  to  God  are  the  work  of  no  common 
mechanics,  but  are  wrought  and  fashioned  in  us  by  the  Word 
of  God,  to  wit,  the  virtues  in  which  we  imitate  "  the  First-born 
of  all  creation,"  who  has  set  us  an  example  of  justice,  of  tem- 
perance, of  courage,  of  wisdom,  of  piety,  and  of  the  other 
virtues.  In  all  those,  then,  who  plant  and  cultivate  within 
their  souls,  according  to  the  divine  word,  temperance,  justice, 
wisdom,  piety,  and  other  virtues,  these  excellences  are  their 
statues  they  raise,  in  which  we  are  persuaded  that  it  is  becom- 
ing for  us  to  honour  the  model  and  prototype  of  all  statues : 
"  the  image  of  the  invisible  God,"  God  the  only-begotten. 
And  again,  they  who  "  put  off  the  old  man  with  his  deeds,  and 
put  on  the  new  man,  which  is  renewed  in  knowledge  after  the 
image  of  Him  that  hath  created  him,"  in  taking  upon  them  the 
image  of  Him  who  hath  created  them,  do  raise  within  them- 
selves a  statue  like  to  what  the  Most  High  God  Himself  desires. 
And  as  among  statuaries  there  are  some  who  are  marvellously 
perfect  in  their  art,  as  for  example  Pheidias  and  Polycleitus, 
and  among  painters,  Zeuxis  and  Apelles,  whilst  others  make  in- 
ferior statues,  and  others,  again,  are  inferior  to  the  second-rate 
artists, — so  that,  taking  all  together,  there  is  a  Avide  difference 
in  the  execution  of  statues  and  pictures, — in  the  same  way  there 
are  some  who  form  images  of  the  Most  High  in  a  better  manner 
and  with  a  more  perfect  skill ;  so  that  there  is  no  comparison 
even  between  the  Olympian  Jupiter  of  Pheidias  and  the  man 
who  has  been  fashioned  according  to  the  image  of  God  the 
1  Rev.  V.  S.  2  pg_  cxjj_  2. 


506  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viii. 

Creator.  But  by  far  the  most  excellent  of  all  these  through- 
out the  whole  of  creation  is  that  image  in  our  Saviour  who 
said,  "  My  Father  is  in  me." 

Chapter  xviii. 

And  every  one  who  imitates  Him  according  to  his  ability, 
does  by  this  very  endeavour  raise  a  statue  according  to  the 
image  of  the  Creator,  for  in  the  contemplation  of  God  with  a 
pure  heart  they  become  imitators  of  Him.  And,  in  general, 
we  see  that  all  Christians  strive  to  raise  altars  and  statues  as 
we  have  described  them,  and  these  not  of  a  lifeless  and  sense- 
less kind,  and  not  to  receive  greedy  spirits  intent  upon  lifeless 
things,  but  to  be  filled  with  the  Spirit  of  God  who  dwells  in 
the  images  of  virtue  of  which  we  have  spoken,  and  takes  His 
abode  in  the  soul  which  is  conformed  to  the  image  of  the 
Creator.  Thus  the  Spirit  of  Christ  dwells  in  those  who  bear, 
so  to  say,  a  resemblance  in  form  and  feature  to  Himself.  And 
the  Word  of  God.  wishing  to  set  this  clearly  before  us,  repre- 
sents God  as  promising  to  the  righteous,  "  I  will  dwell  in  them, 
and  walk  among  them ;  and  I  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall 
be  my  people."^  And  the  Saviour  says,  "  If  any  man  hear 
my  words,  and  do  them,  I  and  my  Father  will  come  to  him,  and 
make  our  abode  with  him." '  Let  any  one,  therefore,  who  chooses 
compare  the  altars  which  I  have  described  with  those  spoken 
of  by  Celsus,  and  the  images  in  the  souls  of  those  who  worship 
the  Most  High  God  with  the  statues  of  Pheidias,  Polycleitus, 
and  such  like,  and  he  will  clearly  perceive,  that  while  the  latter 
are  lifeless  things,  and  subject  to  the  ravages  of  time,  the 
former  abide  in  the  immortal  spirit  as  long  as  the  reasonable 
soul  wishes  to  preserve  them. 

Chapter  xix. 

And  if,  further,  temples  are  to  be  compared  with  temples, 
that  we  may  prove  to  those  who  accept  the  opinions  of  Celsus 
that  we  do  not  object  to  the  erection  of  temples  suited  to  the 
images  and  altars  of  which  we  have  spoken,  but  that  we  do  re- 
fuse to  build  lifeless  temples  to  the  Giver  of  all  life,  let  any 
one  who  chooses  learn  how  wie  are  taught,  that  our  bodies 
1  2  Cor.  vi.- 16.  2  Jq]^  ^y^  23. 


BooKvm.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  507 

are  the  temple  of  God,  and  that  if  any  one  by  lust  or  sin 
defiles  the  temple  of  God,  he  will  himself  be  destroyed,  as 
acting  impiously  towards  the  true  temple.  Of  all  the  temples 
spoken  of  in  this  sense,  the  best  and  most  excellent  was  the 
pure  and  holy  body  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  When  He 
knew  that  wicked  men  might  aim  at  the  destruction  of  the 
temple  of  God  in  Him,  but  that  their  purposes  of  destruction 
would  not  prevail  against  the  divine  power  which  had  built  that 
temple,  He  says  to  them,  "  Destroy  this  temple,  and  in  three 
days  I  will  raise  it  again.  .  .  .  This  He  said  of  the  temple  of 
His  body."^  And  in  other  parts  of  holy  Scripture  where  it 
speaks  of  the  mystery  of  the  resurrection  to  those  whose  ears 
are  divinely  opened,  it  says  that  the  temple  which  has  been 
destroyed  shall  be  built  up  again  of  living  and  most  precious 
stones,  thereby  giving  us  to  understand  that  each  of  those  who 
are  led  by  the  word  of  God  to  strive  together  in  the  duties  of 
piety,  will  be  a  precious  stone  in  the  one  great  temple  of  God. 
Accordingly,  Peter  says,  "  Ye  also,  as  lively  stones,  are  built  up 
a  spiritual  house,  an  holy  priesthood,  to  offer  up  spiritual  sacri- 
fices, acceptable  to  God  by  Jesus  Christ;""  and  Paul  also  says, 
"  Being  built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets, 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  being  the  chief  corner-stone.'"^  And 
there  is  a  similar  hidden  allusion  in  this  passage  in  Isaiah, 
which  is  addressed  to  Jerusalem  :  "  Behold,  I  will  lay  thy  stones 
with  carbuncles,  and  lay  thy  foundations  with  sapphires.  And 
I  will  make  thy  battlements  of  jasper,  and  thy  gates  of  crystal, 
and  all  thy  borders  of  pleasant  stones.  And  all  thy  children 
shall  be  taught  of  the  Lord ;  and  great  shall  be  the  peace  of 
thy  children.      In  righteousness  shalt  thou  be  established."  ^ 

Chapter  xx. 

There  are,  then,  among  the  righteous  some  who  are  car- 
buncles, others  sapphires,  others  jaspers,  and  others  crystal, 
and  thus  there  is  among  the  righteous  every  kind  of  choice  and 
precious  stone.  As  to  the  spiritual  meaning  of  the  different 
stones, — what  is  their  nature,  and  to  what  kind  of  soul  the  name 
of  each  precious  stone  especially  applies, — we  cannot  at  present 

1  John  ii.  19,  21.  2  i  ^et.  ii.  5. 

3Eph.  ii.  20.  *  Isa.  liv.  11-14. 


508  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viii. 

stay  to  examine.  We  have  only  felt  it  necessary  to  show  thus 
briefly  what  we  understand  by  temples,  and  what  the  one 
Temple  of  God  built  of  precious  stones  truly  means.  For  as 
if  in  some  cities  a  dispute  should  arise  as  to  which  had  the 
finest  temples,  those  who  thought  their  own  were  the  best 
would  do  their  utmost  to  show  the  excellence  of  their  own 
temples  and  the  inferiority  of  the  others, — in  like  manner,  when 
they  reproach  us  for  not  deeming  it  necessary  to  worship  the 
Divine  Being  by  raising  lifeless  temples,  we  set  before  them  our 
temples,  and  show  to  such  at  least  as  are  not  blind  and  sense- 
less, like  their  senseless  gods,  that  there  is  no  comparison  be- 
tween our  statues  and  the  statues  of  the  heathen,  nor  between  our 
altars,  with  what  we  may  call  the  incense  ascending  from  them, 
and  the  heathen  altars,  with  the  fat  and  blood  of  the  victims ; 
nor,  finally,  between  the  temples  of  senseless  gods,  admired  by 
senseless  men,  who  have  no  divine  faculty  for  perceiving  God, 
and  the  temples,  statues,  and  altars  which  are  worthy  of  God. 
It  is  not  therefore  true  that  we  object  to  building  altars, 
statues,  and  temples,  because  we  have  agreed  to  make  this  the 
badge  of  a  secret  and  forbidden  society ;  but  we  do  so,  because 
we  have  learnt  from  Jesus  Christ  the  true  way  of  serving  God, 
and  we  shrink  from  whatever,  under  a  pretence  of  piety,  leads 
to  utter  impiety  those  who  abandon  the  way  marked  out  for  us 
by  Jesus  Christ.  For  it  is  He  who  alone  is  the  way  of  piety, 
as  He  truly  said,  "  I  am  the  way,  the  truth,  the  life." 

Chapter  xxi. 

Let  us  see  what  Celsus  further  says  of  God,  and  how  he 
urges  us  to  the  use  of  those  things  which  are  properly  called 
idol  offerings,  or,  still  better,  offerings  to  demons,  although,  in 
his  ignorance  of  what  true  sanctity  is,  and  what  sacrifices  are 
well-pleasing  to  God,  he  call  them  "  holy  sacrifices."  His 
words  are,  "  God  is  the  God  of  all  alike ;  He  is  good,  He  stands 
in  need  of  nothing,  and  He  is  without  jealousy.  What,  then, 
is  there  to  hinder  those  who  are  most  devoted  to  His  service 
from  taking  part  in  public  feasts  ?  "  I  cannot  see  the  connec- 
tion which  he  fancies  between  God's  being  good,  and  indepen- 
dent, and  free  from  jealousy,  and  His  devoted  servants  taking 
part  in  public  feasts.     I  confess,  indeed,  that  from  the  fact 


BooKvni.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  509 

that  God  is  good,  and  without  want  of  anything,  and  free  from 
jealousy,  it  would  follow  as  a  consequence  that  we  might  take 
part  in  public  feasts,  if  it  were  proved  that  the  public  feasts 
had  nothing  wrong  in  them,  and  were  grounded  upon  true 
views  of  the  character  of  God,  so  that  they  resulted  naturally 
from  a  devout  service  of  God.  If,  however,  the  so-called  public 
festivals  can  in  no  way  be  shown  to  accord  with  the  service  of 
God,  but  may  on  the  contrary  be  proved  to  have  been  devised 
by  men  when  occasion  offered  to  commemorate  some  human 
events,  or  to  set  forth  certain  qualities  of  water  or  earth,  or  the 
fruits  of  the  earth, — in  that  case,  it  is  clear  that  those  who 
wish  to  offer  an  enlightened  worship  to  the  Divine  Being  will 
act  according  to  sound  reason,  and  not  take  part  in  the  public 
feasts.  For  "  to  keep  a  feast,''  as  one  of  the  wise  men  of 
Greece  has  well  said,  "is  nothing  else  than  to  do  one's  duty  ;"^ 
and  that  man  truly  celebrates  a  feast  who  does  his  duty  and 
prays  always,  offering  up  continually  bloodless  sacrifices  in 
prayer  to  God.  That  therefore  seems  to  me  a  most  noble 
saying  of  Paul,  '•  Ye  observe  days,  and  months,  and  times, 
and  years.  I  am  afraid  of  you,  lest  I  have  bestowed  upon 
you  labour  in  vain."' " 

CHArTER  XXII. 

If  it  be  objected  to  us  on  this  subject  that  we  ourselves  are 
accustomed  to  observe  certain  days,  as  for  example  the  Lord's 
day,  the  Preparation,  the  Passover,  or  Pentecost,  I  have  to 
answer,  that  to  the  perfect  Christian,  who  is  ever  in  his  thoughts, 
words,  and  deeds  serving  his  natural  Lord,  God  the  "Word,  all 
his  days  are  the  Lord's,  and  he  is  always  keeping  the  Lord's 
day.  He  also  who  is  unceasingly  preparing  himself  for  the 
true  life,  and  abstaining  from  the  pleasures  of  this  life  which 
lead  astray  so  many, — who  is  not  indulging  the  lust  of  the  flesh, 
but  "  keeping  under  his  body,  and  bringing  it  into  subjection,"' 
— such  a  one  is  always  keeping  Preparation-day.  Again,  he 
who  considers  that  "  Christ  our  Passover  was  sacrificed  for  us," 
and  that  it  is  his  duty  to  keep  the  feast  by  eating  of  the  flesh. 
of  the  AYordj  never  ceases  to  keep  the  paschal  feast ;  for  the 
pascha  means  a  '"'  passover,"  and  he  is  ever  striving  in  all  his 
1  Thucyd.  I  "  Gal.  iv.  10,  11. 


510  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vin. 

thoughts,  w-ords,  and  deeds,  to  pass  over  from  the  things  of 
this  life  to  God,  and  is  hastening  towards  the  city  of  God. 
And,  finally,  he  who  can  truly  say,  "  We  are  risen  with  Christ," 
and  "  He  hath  exalted  us,  and  made  us  to  sit  with  Him  in 
heavenly  places  in  Christ,"  is  always  living  in  the  season  of 
Pentecost ;  and  most  of  all,  when  going  up  to  the  upper  cham- 
ber, like  the  apostles  of  Jesus,  he  gives  himself  to  supplication 
and  prayer,  that  he  may  become  worthy  of  receiving  "the 
mighty  wind  rushing  from  heaven,"  which  is  powerful  to 
destroy  sin  and  its  fruits  among  men,  and  worthy  of  having 
some  share  of  the  tongue  of  fire  which  God  sends. 

Chapter  xxiii. 

/  But  the  majority  of  those  who  are  accounted  believers  are 
I  not  of  this  advanced  class ;  but  from  being  either  unable  or 
unwilling  to  keep  every  day  in  this  manner,  they  require  some 
sensible  memorials  to  prevent  spiritual  things  from  passing  alto- 
'  gether  away  from  their  minds.  It  is  to  this  practice  of  setting 
apart  some  days  distinct  from  others,  that  Paul  seems  to  me  to 
refer  in  the  expression,  "part  of  the  feast  ;"^  and  by  these  words 
he  indicates  that  a  life  in  accordance  with  the  divine  word  con- 
sists not  "  in  a  part  of  the  feast,"  but  in  one  entire  and  never- 
ceasing  festival.  Again,  compare  the  festivals,  observed  among 
us  as  these  have  been  described  above,  with  the  public  feasts  of 
Celsu^  and  the  heathen,  and  say  if  the  former  are  not  much 
more  sacred  observances  than  those  feasts  in  which  the  lust  of 
the  flesh  runs  riot,  and  leads  to  drunkenness  and  debauchery. 
It  would  be  too  long  for  us  at  present  to  show  why  we  are 
required  by  the  law  of  God  to  keep  its  festivals  by  eating  "  the 
bread  of  affliction,"^  or  "leaven  with  bitter  herbs," ^  or  why  it 
says,  "  Humble  your  souls,"  *  and  such  like.  For  it  is  impos- 
;  sible  for  man,  who  is  a  compound  being,  in  which  "  the  flesh 
I  lusteth  against  the  spirit,  and  the  spirit  against  the  flesh,"  ^  to 

^  Col.  ii.  16.  The  whole  passage  in  the  English  version  is,  "  Let  no  man 
judge  you  in  meat,  or  in  drink,  or  in  respect  of  an  Jiohjday^^  Qv  fiipii  iopri;:). 
Origcn's  interpretation  is  not  followed  by  any  modern  expositors.  It  is 
adopted  by  Chrysostom  and  Theodoret. 

2  Deut.  xvi.  3.  *  Ex.  xii.  8. 

*  Lev.  xvi.  29.  *  Gal.  v.  17. 


Book  VIII.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  511 

keep  the  feast  with  his  whole  nature ;  for  either  he  keeps  the 
feast  with  his  spirit  and  afflicts  the  body,  Avhich  through  the 
lust  of  the  flesh  is  unfit  to  keep  it  along  with  the  spirit,  or  else 
he  keeps  it  with  the  body,  and  the  spirit  is  unable  to  share  in 
it.  But  we  have  for  the  present  said  enough  on  the  subject  of 
feasts. 

Chapter  xxiv. 

Let  us  now  see  on  what  grounds  Celsus  urges  us  to  make 
use  of  the  idol  offerings  and  the  public  sacrifices  in  the  public 
feasts.  His  words  are,  "  If  these  idols  are  nothing,  what  harm 
will  there  be  in  taking  part  in  the  feast  ?  On  the  other  hand,  if 
they  are  demons,  it  is  certain  that  they  too  are  God's  creatures, 
and  that  we  must  believe  in  them,  sacrifice  to  them  according 
to  the  laws,  and  pray  to  them  that  they  may  be  propitious." 
In  reference  to  this  statement,  it  would  be  profitable  for  us  to 
take  up  and  clearly  explain  the  whole  passage  of  the  First 
Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  in  which  Paul  treats  of  offerings 
to  idols.^  The  apostle  draws  from  the  fact  that  "an  idol  is 
nothing  in  the  world,"  the  consequence  that  it  is  injurious  to 
use  things  offered  to  idols ;  and  he  shows  to  those  who  have 
ears  to  hear  on  such  subjects,  that  he  who  partakes  of  things 
offered  to  idols  is  worse  than  a  murderer,  for  he  destroys  his 
own  brethren,  for  whom  Christ  died.  And  further,  he  main- 
tains that  the  sacrifices  are  made  to  demons;  and  from  that 
he  proceeds  to  show  that  those  who  join  the  table  of  demons 
become  associated  with  the  demons ;  and  he  concludes  that  a 
man  cannot  both  be  a  partaker  of  the  table  of  the  Lord  and 
of  the  table  of  demons.  But  since  it  would  require  a  whole 
treatise  to  set  forth  fully  all  that  is  contained  on  this  subject 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  we  shall  content  ourselves 
with  this  brief  statement  of  the  argument ;  for  it  will  be 
evident  to  any  one  who  carefully  considers  what  has  been  said, 
that  even  if  idols  are  nothing,  nevertheless  it  is  an  awful  thing 
to  join  in  idol  festivals.  And  even  supposing  that  there  are 
such  beings  as  demons  to  whom  the  sacrifices  are  offered,  it 
has  been  clearly  shown  that  we  are  forbidden  to  take  part  in 
these  festivals,  when  we  know  the  difference  between  the  table 
1  1  Cor.  viii.  4,  11. 


512  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viii. 

of  the  Lord  and  the  table  of  demons.  And  knowing  this,  we 
endeavour  as  much  as  we  can  to  be  always  partakers  of  the 
_Lord's  table,  and  beware  to  the  utmost  of  joining  at  any  time 
the  table  of  demons. 

CHAriER  XXV. 

Celsus  says  that  "  the  demons  belong  to  God,  and  are  there- 
fore to  be  believed,  to  be  sacrificed  to  according  to  laws,  and  to 
be  prayed  to  that  they  may  be  propitious."  Those  who  are 
disposed  to  learn,  must  know  that  the  word  of  God  nowhere 
says  of  evil  things  that  they  belong  to  God,  for  it  judges  them 
unworthy  of  such  a  Lord.  Accordingly,  it  is  not  all  men  who 
bear  the  name  of  "  men  of  God,"  but  only  those  who  are 
worthy  of  God, — such  as  Moses  and  Elias,  and  any  others  who 
are  so  called,  or  such  as  resemble  those  who  are  so  called  in 
Scripture.  In  the  same  way,  all  angels  are  not  said  to  be 
angels  of  God,  but  only  those  that  are  blessed :  those  that  have 
fallen  away  into  sin  are  called  "angels  of  the  devil,"  just  as 
bad  men  are  called  "  men  of  sin,"  "  sons  of  perdition,"  or  "  sons 
of  iniquity."  Since,  then,  among  men  some  are  good  and 
others  bad,  and  the  former  are  said  to  be  God's  and  the  latter 
the  devil's,  so  among  ann;els  some  are  angels  of  God,  and  others 

angels  of  the  devil.     But  among  demons  there  is  no  such  dis- 
cs o 

tinction,  for  all  are  said  to  be  wicked.  We  do  not  therefore 
hesitate  to  say  that  Celsus  is  false  when  he  says,  "  If  they  are 
demons,  it  is  evident  that  they  must  also  belong  to  God."  He 
must  either  show  that  this  distinction  of  good  and  bad  among 
angels  and  men  has  no  foundation,  or  else  that  a  similar 
distinction  may  be  shown  to  hold  among  demons.  If  that 
is  impossible,  it  is  plain  that  demons  do  not  belong  to  God ; 
for  their  prince  is  not  God,  but,  as  holy  Scripture  says, 
"  Beelzebub." 

Chapter  xxvi. 

And  we  are  not  to  believe  in  demons,  although  Celsus  urges 
us  to  do  so ;  but  if  we  are  to  obey  God,  we  must  die,  or  endure 
anything  sooner  than  obey  demons.  In  the  same  way,  we  are 
not  to  propitiate  demons ;  for  it  is  impossible  to  propitiate  beings 
that  are  wicked  and  that  seek  the  injury  of  men.     Besides, 


Book  viii.J  OPdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  513 

what  are  the  laws  in  accordance  with  which  Celsus  would  have 
us  propitiate  the  demons  ?  For  if  he  means  laws  enacted  in 
states,  he  must  show  that  they  are  in  agreement  with  the  divine 
laws.  But  if  that  cannot  be  done,  as  the  laws  of  many  states 
are  quite  inconsistent  with  each  other,  these  laws,  therefore, 
must  of  necessity  either  be  no  laws  at  all  in  the  proper  sense  of 
the  word,  or  else  the  enactments  of  wicked  men  :  and  these  wo 
must  not  obey,  for  "we  must  obey  God  rather  than  men/' 
Away,  then,  with  this  counsel,  which  Celsus  gives  us,  to  offer 
prayer  to  demons :  it  is  not  to  be  listened  to  for  a  moment ;  for 
our  duty  is  to  pray  to  the  !Most  High  God  alone,  and  to  the 
only-begotten,  the  first-born  of  the  whole  creation,  and  to  ask 
Him  as  our  High  Priest  to  present  the  prayers  which  ascend  to 
Him  from  us,  to  His  God  and  our  God,  to  His  Father  and  the 
Father  of  those  who  direct  their  lives  according  to  His  word. 
And  as  we  would  have  no  desire  to  enjoy  the  favour  of  those 
men  who  wish  us  to  follow  their  wicked  lives,  and  who  give  us 
their  favour  only  on  condition  that  we  choose  nothing  opposed 
to  their  wishes,  because  their  favour  would  make  us  enemies  of 
God,  who  cannot  be  pleased  with  those  who  have  such  men  for 
their  friends, — in  the  same  way  those  who  are  acquainted  with 
the  nature,  the  purposes,  and  the  wickedness  of  demons,  can 
never  wish  to  obtain  their  favour. 

Chapter  xxvii. 

And  Christians  have  nothing  to  fear,  even  if  demons  should 
not  be  well-disposed  to  them ;  for  they  are  protected  by  the 
supreme  God,  who  is  well  pleased  with  their  piety,  and  who 
sets  His  divine  angels  to  watch  over  those  who  are  worthy  of 
such  guardianship,  so  that  they  can  suffer  nothing  from  demons. 
He  who  by  his  piety  possesses  the  favour  of  the  Most  High, 
who  has  accepted  the  guidance  of  Jesus,  the  '•  Angel  of  the 
great  counsel,"  ^  being  well  contented  with  the  favour  of  God 
through  Christ  Jesus,  may  say  with  confidence  that  he  has 
nothing  to  suffer  from  the  whole  host  of  demons.  '•'  The  Lord 
is  my  light  and  my  salvation ;  whom  shall  I  fear  ?  The  Lord 
is  the  strength  of  my  life ;  of  whom  shall  I  be  afraid '?  Though 
an  host  should  encamp  against  me,  my  heart  shall  not  fear."  ^ 
1  Isa.  ix.  6  (LXX.).  *  Ps.  xxvii.  1,  3. 

ORIG.— VOL.  II.  2  K 


514  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viii. 

So  much,  then,  in  reply  to  those  statements  of  Celsus :  "  If 
they  are  demons,  they  too  evidently  belong  to  God,  and  they 
are  to  be  believed,  to  be  sacrificed  to  according  to  the  laws,  and 
prayers  are  to  be  offered  to  them  that  they  may  be  propitious." 

Chapter  xxviii. 

We  shall  now  proceed  to  the  next  statement  of  Celsus,  and 
examine  it  with  care :  "  If  in  obedience  to  the  traditions  of 
their  fathers  they  abstain  from  such  victims,  they  must  also 
abstain  from  all  animal  food,  in  accordance  with  the  opinions 
of  Pythagoras,  who  thus  showed  his  respect  for  the  soul  and 
its  bodily  organs.  But  if,  as  they  say,  they  abstain  that  they 
may  not  eat  along  with  demons,  I  admire  their  wisdom,  in 
having  at  length  discovered,  that  whenever  they  eat  they  eat 
with  demons,  although  they  only  refuse  to  do  so  when  they  are 
looking  upon  a  slain  victim  ;  for  when  they  eat  bread,  or  drink 
wine,  or  taste  fruits,  do  they  not  receive  these  things,  as  well  as 
the  water  they  drink  and  the  air  they  breathe,  from  certain 
demons,  to  whom  have  been  assigned  these  different  provinces 
of  nature  ?  "  Here  I  would  observe  that  I  cannot  see  how 
those  whom  he  speaks  of  as  abstaining  from  certain  victims,  in 
accordance  with  the  traditions  of  their  fathers,  are  consequently 
bound  to  abstain  from  the  flesh  of  all  animals.  We  do  not 
indeed  deny  that  the  divine  word  does  seem  to  command  some- 
tlilng  similar  to  this,  when  to  raise  us  to  a  higher  and  purer  life 
it  says,  "  It  is  good  neither  to  eat  flesh,  nor  to  drink  wine,  nor 
anything  whereby  thy  brother  stumbleth,  or  is  offended,  or  is 
made  weak;"^  and  again,  "  Destroy  not  him  with  thy  meat,  for 
whom  Christ  died;"^  and  again,  "If  meat  make  my  brother  to 
offend,  I  will  eat  no  flesh  while  the  world  standeth,  lest  I  make 
my  brother  to  offend."^ 

Chapter  xxix. 

But  it  is  to  be  observed  that  the  Jews,  who  claim  for  them- 
selves a  correct  understanding  of  the  law  of  Moses,  carefully 
restrict  their  food  to  such  things  as  are  accounted  clean,  and 
abstain  from  those  that  are  unclean.  They  also  do  not  use  in 
their  food  the  blood  of  an  animal  nor  the  flesh  of  an  animal 

1  Rom.  xiv.  21.  2  Rom.  xiv.  15.  ^  1  Cor.  viii.  13. 


Eooicviii.]  OrJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  515 

torn  by  ^Yild  beasts,  and  some  other  things  which  it  would  take 
too  long  for  us  at  present  to  detail.  But  Jesus,  wishing  to  lead 
all  men  by  His  teaching  to  the  pure  worship  and  service  of  God, 
and  anxious  not  to  throw  any  hindrance  in  the  way  of  many 
who  might  be  benefited  by  Christianity,  through  the  imposition 
of  a  burdensome  code  of  rules  in  regard  to  food,  has  laid  it 
down,  that  "  not  that  which  goeth  into  the  mouth  defileth  a 
man,  but  that  which  cometh  out  of  the  mouth  ;  for  whatsoever 
entereth  in  at  the  mouth  goeth  into  the  belly,  and  is  cast  out 
into  the  draught.  But  those  things  which  proceed  out  of  the 
mouth  are  evil  thoughts  when  spoken,  murders,  adulteries,  for- 
nications, thefts,  false  witness,  blasphemies."^  Paul  also  says, 
"  Meat  commendeth  us  not  to  God  :  for  neither,  if  we  eat,  are 
we  the  better ;  neither,  if  we  eat  not,  are  we  the  worse."  ^ 
Wherefore,  as  there  is  some  obscurity  about  this  matter,  with- 
out some  explanation  is  given,  it  seemed  good  to  the  apostles  of 
Jesus  and  the  elders  assembled  together  at  Antioch,  and  also, 
as  they  themselves  say,  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  write  a  letter  to 
the  Gentile  believers,  forbidding  them  to  partake  of  those  things 
from  which  alone  they  say  it  is  necessary  to  abstain,  namely, 
"  things  offered  to  idols,  things  strangled,  and  blood."  ^ 

Chapter  xxx. 

For  that  which  is  offered  to  idols  is  sacrificed  to  demons,  and 
a  man  of  God  must  not  join  the  table  of  demons.  As  to  things 
strangled,  we  are  forbidden  by  Scripture  to  partake  of  them, 
\  because  the  blood  is  still  in  them ;  and  blood,  especially  the 
'  odour  arising  from  blood,  is  said  to  be  the  food  of  demons. 
Perhaps,  then,  if  we  were  to  eat  of  strangled  animals,  we  might 
have  such  spirits  feeding  along  with  us.  And  the  reason  which 
forbids  the  use  of  strangled  animals  for  food  is  also  applicable 
to  the  use  of  blood.  And  it  may  not  be  amiss,  as  bearing  on 
this  point,  to  recall  a  beautiful  saying  in  the  writings  of  Sextus, 
which  is  known  to  most  Christians  :  "  The  eating  of  animals," 
says  he,  "  is  a  matter  of  indifference ;  but  to  abstain  from 
them  is  more  agreeable  to  reason."  It  is  not,  therefore,  simply 
on  account  of  some  traditions  of  our  fathers  that  we  refrain 

1  Matt.  XV.  11,  17-19.  -  1  Cor.  viii.  8. 

8  Acts  XV.  28,  29.     It  was  at  Jerusalem. 


51C  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viii. 

from  eating  victims  offered  to  those  called  gods  or  heroes  or 
demons,  but  for  other  reasons,  some  of  which  I  have  here  men- 
tioned. It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  however,  that  we  are  to  ab- 
j  stain  from  the  flesh  of  animals  in  the  same  way  as  we  are  bound 
/  to  abstain  from  all  vice  and  wickedness  :  we  are  indeed  to 
abstain  not  only  from  the  flesh  of  animals,  but  from  all  other 
kinds  of  food,  if  we  cannot  partake  of  them  without  incurring 
evi],  and  the  consequences  of  evil.  For  we  are  to  avoid  eating 
for  gluttony,  or  for  the  mere  gratification  of  the  appetite,  with-  ^ 
out  regard  to  the  health  and  sustenance  of  the  body.  We  do 
not  believe  that  souls  pass  from  one  body  to  another,  and  that 
they  may  descend  so  low  as  to  enter  the  bodies  of  the  brutes. 
If  we  abstain  at  times  from  eating  the  flesh  of  animals,  it  is 
evidently,  therefore,  not  for  the  same  reason  as  Pythagoras  ;  for 
it  is  the  reasonable  soul  alone  that  we  honour,  and  we  commit 
its  bodily  organs  with  due  honours  to  the  grave.  For  it  is  not 
right  that  the  dwelling-place  of  the  rational  soul  should  be  cast 
aside  anywhere  without  honour,  like  the  carcases  of  brute 
beasts ;  and  so  much  the  more  when  we  believe  that  the  respect 
paid  to  the  body  redounds  to  the  honour  of  the  person  who 
received  from  God  a  soul  which  has  nobly  employed  the  organs 
of  the  body  in  which  it  resided.  In  regard  to  the  question, 
"  How  are  the  dead  raised  up,  and  with  what  body  do  they 
come  ?  "  we  have  already  answered  it  briefly,  as  our  purpose 
required. 

Chapter  xxxi. 

Celsus  afterwards  states  what  is  adduced  by  Jews  and  Chris- 
tians alike  in  defence  of  abstinence  from  idol  sacrifices,  namely, 
that  it  is  wrong  for  those  who  hav^  dedicated  themselves  to  the 
Most  High  God  to  eat  with  demons.  What  he  brings  forward 
against  this  view,  we  have  already  seen.  In  our  opinion,  a  man 
can  only  be  said  to  eat  and  drink  with  demons  when  he  eats 
the  flesh  of  what  are  called  sacred  victims,  and  when  he  drinks 
the  wine  poured  out  to  the  honour  of  the  demons.  But  Celsus 
thinks  that  we  cannot  eat  bread  or  drink  wine  in  any  way 
whatever,  or  taste  fruits,  or  even  take  a  draught  of  water,  with- 
out eating  and  drinking  with  demons.  He  adds  also,  that  the 
air  which  we  breathe  is  received  from  demons,  and  that  not  an 


BooKviii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  517 

animal  can  breathe  without  receiving  the  air  from  the  demons 
who  are  set  over  the  air.  If  any  one  wishes  to  defend  tliis 
statement  of  Celsus,  let  him  show  that  it  is  not  the  divine 
angels  of  God,  but  demons,  the  whole  race  of  whom  are  bad, 
that  have  been  appointed  to  communicate  all  those  blessings 
which  have  been  mentioned.  We  indeed  also  maintain  with 
regard  not  only  to  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  but  to  every  flowing 
,'  stream  and  every  breath  of  air,  that  the  ground  brings  forth 
those  things  which  are  said  to  grow  up  naturally, — that  the 
water  springs  in  fountains,  and  refreshes  the  earth  with  run- 
ning streams, — that  the  air  is  kept  pure,  and  supports  the  life 
of  those  who  breathe  it  only  in  consequence  of  the  agency  and 
control  of  certain  beings  whom  we  may  call  invisible  husband- 
men and  guardians ;  but  we  deny  that  those  invisible  agents 
are  dem.ons.  And  if  we  might  speak  boldly,  w^e  would  say  that 
if  demons  have  any  share  at  all  in  these  things,  to  them  belong 
famine,  blasting  of  the  vine  and  fruit  trees,  pestilence  among 
men  and  beasts :  all  these  are  the  proper  occupations  of 
demons,  who  in  the  capacity  of  public  executioners  receive 
power  at  certain  times  to  carry  out  the  divine  judgments,  for 
the  restoration  of  those  who  have  plunged  headlong  into  wicked- 
ness, or  for  the  trial  and  discipline  of  the  souls  of  the  wise. 
For  those  who  through  all  their  afflictions  preserve  their  piety 
pure  and  unimpaired,  show  their  true  character  to  all  specta- 
tors, whether  visible  or  invisible,  who  behold  them  ;  while  those 
who  are  otherwise  minded,  yet  conceal  their  w^ickedness,  when 
they  have  their  true  character  exposed  by  misfortunes,  become 
manifest  to  themselves  as  well  as  to  those  wdiom  we  may  also 
call  spectators. 

Chapter  xxxii. 

The  Psalmist  bears  witness  that  divine  justice  employs  cer- 
tain evil  angels  to  inflict  calamities  upon  men  :  "  He  cast  upon 
them  the  fierceness  of  His  anger,  wrath,  and  indignation,  and 
trouble,  sent  by  evil  angels."^  Whether  demons  ever  go  beyond 
this  W'hen  they  are  suffered  to  do  what  they  are  ever  ready, 
though  through  the  restraint  put  upon  them  they  are  not  always 
able  to  do,  is  a  question  to  be  solved  by  that  man  who  can  con- 
^  Ps.  Ixxviii.  49. 


518  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viir. 

ceive,  in  so  far  as  human  nature  will  allow,  how  it  accords  with 
the  divine  justice,  that  such  multitudes  of  human  souls  are 
separated  from  the  body  while  walking  in  the  paths  which  lead 
to  certain  death.  "  For  the  judgments  of  God  are  so  great," 
that  a  soul  which  is  still  clothed  with  a  mortal  body  cannot 
comprehend  them  ;  "  and  they  cannot  be  expressed  :  therefore 
by  unnurtured  souls  "^  they  are  not  in  any  measure  to  be 
understood.  And  hence,  too,  rash  spirits,  by  their  ignorance  in 
these  matters,  and  by  recklessly  setting  themselves  against  the 
Divine  Being,  multiply  impious  objections  against  providence. 
It  is  not  from  demons,  then,  that  men  receive  any  of  those  things 
which  meet  the  necessities  of  life,  and  least  of  all  ourselves, 
who  have  been  taught  to  make  a  proper  use  of  these  things. 
]  And  they  who  partake  of  corn  and  wine,  and  the  fruits  of 
I  trees,  of  water  and  of  air,  do  not  feed  with  demons,  but  rather 
i  do  they  feast  with  divine  angels,  who  are  appointed  for  this  pur- 
ipose,  and  who  are  as  it  were  invited  to  the  table  of  the  pious 
Iman,  who  hearkens  to  the  precept  of  the  word,  which  says, 
"  Whether  ye  eat  or  drink,  or  whatever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the 
glory  of  God."'  And  again,  in  another  place  it  is  written, 
"Do  all  things  in  the  name  of  God."^  When,  therefore,  we 
eat  and  drink  and  breathe  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  act  in  all 
things  according  to  what  is  right,  we  feast  with  no  demons,  but 
with  divine  angels :  "  For  every  creature  is  good,  and  nothing 
to  be  refused,  if  it  be  received  with  thanksgiving :  for  it  is 
sanctified  by  the  word  of  God  and  prayer."^  But  it  could  not 
be  good,  and  it  could  not  be  sanctified,  if  these  things  were,  as 
Celsus  supposes,  entrusted  to  the  charge  of  demons. 

Chapter  xxxiii. 

From  this  it  is  evident  that  we  have  already  met  the  next 
statement  of  Celsus,  which  is  as  follows :  "  We  must  either  not 
live,  and  indeed  not  come  into  this  life  at  all,  or  we  must  do  so 
on  condition  that  we  give  thanks  and  first-fruits  and  prayers 
to  demons,  who  have  been  set  over  the  things  of  this  world  :  and 
that  we  must  do  as  long  as  we  live,  that  they  may  prove  good 
and  kind."     We  must  surely  live,  and  we  must  live  according 

1  Wisdom  of  Sol.  xvii.  1.  -  Col.  iii.  17. 

3  1  Cor.  X.  31.  "  1  Tim.  iv.  4,  6. 


Book  VIII.]  OPJGEN  AGAINST  GELSUS.  519 

to  the  word  of  God,  as  far  as  we  are  enabled  to  do  so.  And  we 
are  thus  enabled  to  live,  when,  "whether  we  eat  or  drink,  we  do 
all  to  the  glory  of  God ; "  and  we  are  not  to  refuse  to  enjoy  those 
things  which  have  been  created  for  our  use,  but  must  receive 
them  with  thanksgiving  to  the  Creator.  And  it  is  under  these 
conditions,  and  not  such  as  have  been  imagined  by  Celsus,  that 
we  have  been  brought  into  life  by  God ;  and  we  are  not  placed 
under  demons,  but  we  are  under  the  government  of  the  Most 
High  God,  through  Him  who  hath  brought  us  to  God — Jesus 
Christ.  It  is  not  according  to  the  law  of  God  that  any  demon 
has  had  a  share  in  worldly  affairs,  but  it  was  by  their  own  law- 
'lessness  that  they  perhaps  sought  out  for  themselves  places 
destitute  of  the  knowledge  of  God  and  of  the  divine  life,  or 
places  where  there  are  many  enemies  of  God.  Perhaps  also,  as 
being  fit  to  rule  over  and  punish  them,  they  have  been  set  by 
the  "Word,  w  ho  governs  all  things,  to  rule  over  those  Avho  sub- 
jected themselves  to  evil  and  not  to  God.  For  this  reason,  then, 
let  Celsus,  as  one  who  knows  not  God,  give  thank-offerings  to 
demons.  But  we  give  thanks  to  the  Creator  of  all,  and,  along 
with  thanksgiving  and  prayer  for  the  blessings  we  have  received, 
we  also  eat  the  bread  presented  to  us ;  and  this  bread  becomes 
by  prayer  a  sacred  body,  which  sanctifies  those  who  sincerely 
partake  of  it. 

Chapter  xxxiy. 

Celsus  would  also  have  us  to  offer  first-fruits  to  demons.  But 
we  would  offer  them  to  Him  who  said,  "  Let  the  earth  bring 
forth  grass,  the  herb  yielding  seed,  and  the  fruit  tree  yielding 
fruit  after  his  kind,  whose  seed  is  in  itself  upon  the  earth."  ^ 
And  to  Him  to  whom  we  offer  first-fruits  we  also  send  up  our 
prayers,  "  having  a  great  high  priest,  that  is  passed  into  the 
heavens,  Jesus  the  Son  of  God,"  and  "  we  hold  fast  this  profes- 
sion"^ as  long  as  we  live;  for  we  find  God  and  His  only-begot- 
ten Son,  manifested  to  us  in  Jesus,  to  be  gracious  and  kind  to 
us.  And  if  we  would  wish  to  have  besides  a  great  number  of 
beings  who  shall  ever  prove  friendly  to  us,  we  are  taught  that 
"  thousand  thousands  stood  before  Him,  and  ten  thousand  times 
ten  thousand  ministered  unto  Him."^  And  these,  regarding 
1  Gen.  i.  11.  -  Heb.  iv.  14.  ^  pan.  ^jj,  iq. 


520  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viii. 

all  as  their  relations  and  friends  who  imitate  their  piety  towards 
God,  and  in  prayer  call  upon  Him  with  sincerity,  work  along 
with  them  for  their  salvation,  appear  unto  them,  deem  it  their 
office  and  duty  to  attend  to  them,  and  as  if  by  common  agree- 
ment they  visit  with  all  manner  of  kindness  and  deliverance 
those  who  pray  to  God,  to  whom  they  themselves  also  pray : 
"  For  they  are  all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister  for 
those  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation."^  Let  the  learned  Greeks 
say  that  the  human  soul  at  its  birth  is  placed  under  the  charge 
of  demons :  Jesus  has  taught  us  not  to  despise  even  the  little 
ones  in  His  church,  saying,  "  Their  angels  do  always  behold  the 
face  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven."^  And  the  prophet 
says,  "  The  angel  of  the  Lord  encampeth  round  about  them 
that  fear  Him,  and  delivereth  them."^  We  do  not,  then,  deny 
I  that  there  are  many  demons  upon  earth,  but  we  maintain  that 
;  they  exist  and  exercise  power  among  the  wicked,  as  a  punish- 
j  ment  of  their  wickedness.  But  they  have  no  power  over  those 
f  who  "  have  put  on  the  whole  armour  of  God,"  who  have 
received  strength  to  "withstand  the  wiles  of  the  devil,"*  and 
who  are  ever  enojao-ed  in  contests  with  them,  knowina;  that  "  we 
wrestle  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  principalities, 
against  powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world, 
against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places."^ 

CnAPTER  XXXV. 

Now  let  us  consider  another  saying  of  Celsus,  which  is  as 
follows :  "  The  satrap  of  a  Persian  or  Roman  monarch,  or 
ruler  or  general  or  governor,  yea,  even  those  who  fill  lower 
offices  of  trust  or  service  in  the  state,  would  be  able  to  do  great 
injury  to  those  who  despised  them ;  and  will  the  satraps  and 
ministers  of  earth  and  air  be  insulted  with  impunity  ?  "  Observe 
now  how  he  introduces  servants  of  the  Most  High — rulers, 
generals,  governors,  and  those  filling  lower  offices  of  trust  and 
service — as,  after  the  manner  of  men,  inflicting  injury  upon 
those  who  insult  them.  For  he  does  not  consider  that  a  wise 
man  would  not  wish  to  do  harm  to  any,  but  would  strive  to  the 
utmost  of  his  power  to  change  and  amend  them;  unless,  indeed, 

1  Heb.  i.  14.  ^  ^^£att.  xviii.  10.  »  Ps.  xxxiv.  7. 

*  Ei)h.  vi.  11.  ^  Eph.  vi.  12. 


Book  VIII.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  521 

it  be  that  those  whom  Celsus  makes  servants  and  rulers 
appointed  by  the  ^lost  High  are  behind  Lycurgus,  the  law- 
giver of  the  Lacedsemonians,  or  Zeno  of  Citium.  For  when 
Lycurgus  had  had  his  eye  put  out  by  a  man,  he  got  the  offender 
into  his  power;  but  instead  of  taking  revenge  upon  him,  he 
ceased  not  to  use  all  his  arts  of  persuasion  until  he  induced  him 
to  become  a  philosopher.  And  Zeno,  on  the  occasion  of  some 
one  sayincT,  "  Let  me  perish  rather  than  not  have  my  revenge 
on  thee,"  answered  him,  "  But  rather  let  me  perish  if  I  do  not 
make  a  friend  of  thee."  And  I  am  not  yet  speaking  of  those 
whose  characters  have  been  formed  by  the  teaching  of  Jesus, 
and  who  have  heard  the  words,  "  Love  your  enemies,  and  pray 
for  them  which  despitefully  use  you,  that  ye  may  be  the  children 
of  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven ;  for  He  maketh  His  sun  to 
rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just 
and  on  the  unjust."^  And  in  the  prophetical  writings  the 
righteous  man  says,  "  O  Lord  my  God,  if  I  have  done  this ;  if 
there  be  iniquity  in  my  hands;  if  I  have  returned  evil  to  those 
who  have  done  evil  to  me,  let  me  fall  helpless  under  mine 
enemies  :  let  my  enemy  persecute  my  soul,  and  take  it ;  yea,  let 
him  tread  down  my  life  upon  the  earth." " 

Chapter  xxxvi. 

But  the  angels,  who  are  the  true  rulers  and  generals  and 
ministers  of  Grod,  do  not,  as  Celsus  supposes,  "  injure  those 
who  offend  them;"  and  if  certain  demons, -whom  Celsus  had 
in  mind,  do  inflict  evils,  they  show  that  they  are  wicked,  and 
that  they  have  received  no  office  of  the  kind  from  God.  And 
they  even  do  injury  to  those  who  are  under  them,  and  who 
have  acknowledged  them  as  their  masters  ;  and  accordingly, 
as  it  would  seem  that  those  who  break  through  the  regulations 
which  prevail  in  any  country  in  regard  to  matters  of  food, 
suft'er  for  it  if  they  are  under  the  demons  of  that  place,  while 
those  who  are  not  under  them,  and  have  not  submitted  to  their 
power,  are  free  from  all  harm,  and  bid  defiance  to  such  spirits ; 
although  if,  in  ignorance  of  certain  things,  they  have  come 
under  the  power  of  other  demons,  they  may  suffer  punishment 
from  them.  But  the  Christian — the  true  Christian,  I  mean — 
1  Matt.  V.  44,  45.  ^  pg.  yii.  3-6. 


522  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viir. 

who  has  submitted  to  God  alone  and  His  Word,  will  suffer 
nothing  from  demons,  for  He  is  mightier  than  demons.  And 
the  Christian  will  suffer  nothing,  for  "  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
will  encamp  about  them  that  fear  Him,  and  will  deliver  them,"^ 
and  his  "  angel,"  who  "  always  beholds  the  face  of  his  Father 
in  heaven,"^  offers  up  his  prayers  through  the  one  High  Priest 
to  the  God  of  all,  and  also  joins  his  own  prayers  with  those  of 
the  man  who  is  committed  to  his  keeping.  Let  not,  then,  Celsus 
try  to  scare  us  with  threats  of  mischief  from  demons,  for  we 
despise  them.  And  the  demons,  when  despised,  can  do  no 
harm  to  those  who  are  under  the  protection  of  Him  who  can 
alone  help  all  who  deserve  His  aid;  and  He  does  no  less  than 
set  His  own  angels  over  His  devout  servants,  so  that  none  of 
the  hostile  angels,  nor  even  he  who  is  called  "  the  prince  of  this 
world,"  ^  can  effect  anything  against  those  who  have  given 
themselves  to  God. 

Chapter  xxxvii. 

In  the  next  place,  Celsus  forgets  that  he  is  addressing 
Christians,  who  pray  to  God  alone  through  Jesus;  and  mixing 
up  other  notions  with  theirs,  he  absurdly  attributes  them  all  to 
Christians.  "  If,"  says  he,  "  they  who  are  addressed  are  called 
upon  by  barbarous  names,  they  will  have  power,  but  no  longer 
will  they  have  any  if  they  are  addressed  in  Greek  or  Latin." 
Let  him,  then,  state  plainly  whom  we  call  upon  for  help  by 
barbarous  names.  Any  one  will  be  convinced  that  this  is  a 
false  charge  which  Celsus  brings  against  us,  when  he  considers 
that  Christians  in  prayer  do  not  even  use  the  precise  names 
which  divine  Scripture  applies  to  God ;  but  the  Greeks  use 
Greek  names,  the  Romans  Latin  names,  and  every  one  prays 
and  sings  praises  to  God  as  he  best  can,  in  his  mother  tongue. 
For  the  Lord  of  all  the  languages  of  the  earth  hears  those  who 
pray  to  Him  in  each  different  tongue,  hearing,  if  I  may  so  say, 
but  one  voice,  expressing  itself  in  various  dialects.  For  the 
Most  High  is  not  as  one  of  those  who  select  one  language,  bar- 
barian or  Greek,  knowing  nothing  of  any  other,  and  caring 
nothing  for  those  who  speak  in  other  tongues. 

1  Ps.  xxxiv.  7.  2  ]^jjitt.  xviii.  10.  ^  John  xiv.  30. 


Book  viii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  523 


Chapter  xxxviii. 

He  next  represents  Christians  as  saying  what  he  never 
heard  from  any  Christian  ;  or  if  he  did,  it  must  have  been  from 
one  of  the  most  ignorant  and  lawless  of  the  people.  "  Behold," 
they  are  made  to  say,  "  I  go  up  to  a  statue  of  Jupiter  or 
Apollo,  or  some  other  god :  I  revile  it,  and  beat  it,  yet  it  takes 
no  vengeance  on  me."  He  is  not  aware  that  among  the  pro- 
hibitions of  the  divine  law  is  this,  "Thou  shalt  not  revile  the 
gods,"  ^  and  this  is  intended  to  prevent  the  formation  of  the 
habit  of  reviling  any  one  whatever ;  for  we  have  been  taught, 
"Bless,  and  curse  not,"  "^  and  it  is  said  that  "revilers  shall  not 
inherit  the  kingdom  of  God."  ^  And  who  amongst  us  is  so 
foolish  as  to  speak  in  the  way  Celsus  describes,  and  to  fail  to 
see  that  such  contemptuous  language  can  be  of  no  avail  for 
removing  prevailing  notions  about  the  gods  ?  For  it  is  matter 
of  observation  that  there  are  men  who  utterly  deny  the  exist- 
ence of  a  God  or  of  an  overruling  providence,  and  who  by 
their  impious  and  destructive  teaching  have  founded  sects 
among  those  who  are  called  philosophers,  and  yet  neither  they 
themselves,  nor  those  who  have  embraced  their  opinions,  have 
suffered  any  of  those  things  which  mankind  generally  account 
evils :  they  are  both  strong  in  body  and  rich  in  possessions. 
And  yet  if  we  ask  what  loss  they  have  sustained,  we  shall  find 
that  they  have  suffered  the  most  certain  injury.  For  what 
greater  injury  can  befall  a  man  than  that  he  should  be  unable 
amidst  the  order  of  the  world  to  see  Him  who  has  made  it  ? 
and  what  sorer  affliction  can  come  to  any  one  than  that  blind- 
ness of  mind  which  prevents  him  from  seeing  the  Creator  and 
Father  of  every  soul  ? 

Chapter  xxxix. 

After  putting  such  words  into  our  mouth,  and  maliciously 
charging  Christians  with  sentiments  which  they  never  held,  he 
then  proceeds  to  give  to  this  supposed  expression  of  Christian 
feeling  an  answer,  which  is  indeed  more  a  mockery  than  an 
answer,  when  he  says,  "Do  you  not  see,  good  sir,  that  even 
your  own  demon  is  not  only  reviled,  but  banished  from  every 
1  Ex.  xxii.  28.  ^  ^0^.  xii.  14.  ^  i  Cor.  vi.  10. 


524  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viii. 

land  and  sea,  and  you  yourself,  who  are  as  it  were  an  image 
dedicated  to  him,  are  bound  and  led  to  punishment,  and  fastened 
to  the  stake,  whilst  your  demon — or,  as  you  call  him,  '  the  Son 
of  God' — takes  no  vengeance  on  the  evil-doer?"  This  answer 
would  be  admissible  if  we  employed  such  language  as  he 
ascribes  to  us ;  although  even  then  he  would  have  no  right  to 
call  the  Son  of  God  a  demon.  For  as  we  hold  that  all  demons 
are  evil,  He  who  turns  so  many  men  to  God  is  in  our  view  no 
demon,  but  God  the  Word,  and  the  Son  of  God.  And  I  know 
not  how  Celsus  has  so  far  forgotten  himself  as  to  call  Jesus 
Christ  a  demon,  when  he  nowhere  alludes  to  the  existence  of 
any  evil  demons.  And  finally,  as  to  the  punishments  threat- 
ened against  the  ungodly,  these  will  come  upon  them  after 
they  have  refused  all  remedies,  and  have  been,  as  we  m.ay  say, 
visited  with  an  incurable  malady  of  sinfulness. 

Chapter  xl. 

Such  is  our  doctrine  of  punishment ;  and  the  inculcation  of 
this  doctrine  turns  many  from  their  sins.  But  let  us  see,  on  the 
other  hand,  what  is  the  response  given  on  this  subject  by  the 
priest  of  Jupiter  or  Apollo  of  whom  Celsus  speaks.  It  is  this : 
'' The  mills  of  God  grind  slowly."^  Another  describes  punish- 
ment as  reaching  "  to  children's  children,  and  to  those  who  came 
after  them."^  How  much  better  are  those  words  of  Scripture : 
"  The  fathers  shall  not  be  put  to  death  for  the  children,  nor  the 
children  for  the  fathers.  Every  man  shall  be  put  to  death  for 
his  own  sin."^  And  again,  "  Every  man  that  eateth  the  sour 
grape,  his  teeth  shall  be  set  on  edge."*  And,  "  The  son  shall 
not  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  father,  neither  shall  the  father  bear 
the  iniquity  of  the  son :  the  righteousness  of  the  righteous  shall 
be  upon  him,  and  the  wickedness  of  the  wicked  shall  be  upon 
him.'"*  If  any  shall  say  that  the  response,  "To  children's 
children,  and  to  those  who  come  after  them,"  corresponds  with 
that  passage,  "  Who  visits  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon  the 
children  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation  of  them  that  hate 

1  "The  mills  of  the  gods  grind  slowly,  but  they  grind  to  powder" 
(Plutarch). 

•  Horn.  II.  XX.  308,  =  Deut.  xxiv.  16. 

*  Jer.  xxxi.  30.  '''  Ezek.  xviii.  20. 


Book  viii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  525 

me,"^  let  him  learn  from  Ezekiel  that  this  language  is  not  to  be 
taken  literally  ;  for  he  reproves  those  who  say,  "  Our  fathers  have 
eaten  sour  grapes,  and  the  children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge,"" 
and  then  he  adds,  "  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  every  one  shall 
die  for  his  own  sin."  As  to  the  proper  meaning  of  the  figurative 
language  about  sins  being  visited  unto  the  third  and  fourth 
generation,  we  cannot  at  present  stay  to  explain. 

Chapter  xli. 

He  then  goes  on  to  rail  against  us  after  the  manner  of  old 
wives.  "  You,"  says  he,  "  mock  and  revile  the  statues  of  our 
gods ;  but  if  you  had  reviled  Bacchus  or  Hercules  in  person,  you 
would  not  perhaps  have  done  so  with  impunity.  But  those  who 
crucified  your  God  when  present  among  men,  suffered  nothing 
for  it,  either  at  the  time  or  during  the  whole  of  their  lives.  And 
what  new  thing  has  there  happened  since  then  to  make  us  be- 
lieve that  he  was  not  an  impostor,  but  the  Son  of  God  ?  And 
forsooth,  he  who  sent  his  Son  with  certain  instructions  for 
mankind,  allowed  him  to  be  thus  cruelly  treated,  and  his  in- 
structions to  perish  with  him,  without  ever  during  all  this  lon^ 
time  showing  the  slightest  concern.  What  father  was  ever  so 
inhuman  ?  Perhaps,  indeed,  you  may  say  that  he  suffered  sq 
much,  because  it  was  his  wish  to  bear  what  came  to  him.  But 
it  is  open  to  those  whom  you  maliciously  revile,  to  adopt  the 
same  language,  and  say  that  they  wish  to  be  reviled,  and  there- 
fore they  bear  it  with  patience ;  for  it  is  best  to  deal  equally 
with  both  sides,  —  although  these  [gods]  severely  punish  the 
scorner,  so  that  he  must  either  flee  and  hide  himself,  or  be  taken 
and  perish."  Now  to  these  statements  I  would  answer  that  we 
revile  no  one,  for  we  believe  that  "  revilers  wall  not  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  God."^  And  we  read,  "  Bless  them  that  curse  you ; 
bless,  and  curse  not ; "  also,  "  Being  reviled,  we  bless."  And 
even  although  the  abuse  which  we  pour  upon  another  may  seem 
to  have  some  excuse  in  the  wrong  which  we  have  received  from 
him,  yet  such  abuse  is  not  allowed  by  the  word  of  God.  And 
how  much  more  ought  we  to  abstain  from  reviling  others,  when 
we  consider  what  a  great  folly  it  is !  And  it  is  equally  foolish 
to  apply  abusive  language  to  stone  or  gold  or  silver,  turned  into 
1  Ex.  XX.  5.  -  Ezek.  xviii.  2-4.  ^  i  Cor.  vL  10. 


52 G  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vm. 

what  is  supposed  to  be  the  form  of  God  by  those  who  have  no 
knowledge  of  God.  Accordingly,  we  throw  ridicule  not  upon 
lifeless  images,  but  upon  those  only  who  worship  them.  More- 
over, if  certain  demons  reside  in  certain  images,  and  one  of  them 
passes  for  Bacchus,  another  for  Hercules,  we  do  not  vilify  them  : 
for,  on  the  one  hand,  it  would  be  useless ;  and,  on  the  other,  it 
does  not  become  one  who  is  meek,  and  peaceful,  and  gentle  in 
spirit,  and  who  has  learnt  that  no  one  among  men  or  demons 
is  to  be  reviled,  however  wicked  he  may  be. 

Chapter  xlii. 

There  is  an  inconsistency  into  which,  strangely  enough,  Celsus 
has  fallen  unawares.  Those  demons  or  gods  whom  he  extolled 
a  little  before,  he  now  shows  to  be  in  fact  the  vilest  of  creatures, 
punishing  more  for  their  own  revenge  than  for  the  improvement 
of  those  who  revile  them.  His  words  are,  "  If  you  had  reviled 
Bacchus  or  Hercules  when  present  in  person,  you  would  not  have 
escaped  w'ith  impunity."  How  any  one  can  hear  without  being 
present  in  person,  I  leave  any  one  who  will  to  explain ;  as  also 
those  other  questions,  "Why  he  is  sometimes  present,  and  some- 
times absent?"  and,  "  What  is  the  business  which  takes  demons 
away  from  place  to  place?"  Again,  when  he  says,  "  Those  who 
crucified  your  God  himself,  suffered  no  harm  for  doing  so,"  he 
supposes  that  it  is  the  body  of  Jesus  extended  on  the  cross  and 
slain,  and  not  His  divine  nature,  that  we  call  God ;  and  that  it 
was  as  God  that  Jesus  was  crucified  and  slain.  As  we  have 
already  dwelt  at  length  on  the  sufferings  which  Jesus  suffered  as 
a  man,  we  shall  purposely  say  no  more  here,  that  we  may  not 
repeat  what  we  have  said  already.  But  when  he  goes  on  to  say 
that  "  those  who  inflicted  deatli  upon  J  esus  suffered  nothing 
afterwards  through  so  long  a  time,"  we  must  inform  him,  as  well 
as  all  who  are  disposed  to  learn  the  truth,  that  the  city  in  w^hich 
the  Jewish  people  called  for  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus  with  shouts 
of  "  Crucify  him,  crucify  him,"^  preferring  to  have  the  robber 
set  free,  who  had  been  cast  into  prison  for  sedition  and  murder, 
and  Jesus,  who  had  been  delivered  through  envy,  to  be  crucified, 
— that  this  city  not  long  afterwards  was  attacked,  and,  after 
a  long  siege,  was  utterly  overthrown  and  laid  waste ;  for  God 
^  Luke  xxiii.  21,  25. 


Book  viii  ]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  527 

judged  the  inhabitants  of  that  place  unworthy  of  liviug  together 
the  life  of  citizens.  And  yet,  though  it  may  seem  an  incredible 
thing  to  say,  God  spared  this  people  in  delivering"  them  to  their 
enemies ;  for  He  saw  that  they  were  incurably  averse  to  any 
amendment,  and  were  daily  sinking  deeper  and  deeper  into  evil. 
And  all  this  befell  them,  because  the  blood  of  Jesus  was  shed  at 
their  instigation  and  on  their  land ;  and  the  land  was  no  longer 
able  to  bear  those  who  were  guilty  of  so  fearful  a  crime  against 
Jesus. 

Chapter  xliii. 

Some  new  thing,  then,  has  come  to  pass  since  the  time  that 
Jesus  suffered, — that,  I  mean,  which  has  happened  to  the  city, 
to  the  whole  nation,  and  in  the  sudden  and  general  rise  of  a 
Christian  community.  And  that,  too,  is  a  new"  thing,  that  those 
who  were  strangers  to  the  covenants  of  God,  with  no  part  in 
His  promises,  and  far  from  the  truth,  have  by  a  divine  power 
been  enabled  to  embrace  the  truth.  These  things  were  not 
the  work  of  an  impostor,  but  were  the  work  of  God,  who  sent 
His  Word,  Jesus  Christ,  to  make  known  His  purposes.'^  The 
sufferings  and  death  which  Jesus  endured  with  such  fortitude 
and  meekness,  show  the  cruelty  and  injustice  of  those  who 
inflicted  them,  but  they  did  not  destroy  the  announcement  of 
the  purposes  of  God ;  indeed,  if  we  may  so  say,  they  served  rather 
to  make  them  known.  For  Jesus  Himself  taught  us  this  when 
He  said,  '•  Except  a  grain  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and 
die,  it  abideth  by  itself  alone :  but  if  it  die,  it  briugeth  forth 
much  fruit." ^  Jesus,  then,  who  is  this  grain  of  wheat,  died, 
and  brought  forth  much  fruit.  And  the  Father  is  ever  looking 
forward  for  the  results  of  the  death  of  the  grain  of  wheat,  both 
those  which  are  arising  now,  and  those  which  shall  arise  here- 
after. The  Father  of  Jesus  is  therefore  a  tender  and  loving 
Father,  though  "  He  spared  not  His  own  Son,  but  delivered 
Him  up"  as  His  lamb  "for  us  all,"^  that  so  "  the  Lamb  of 
God,"  by  dying  for  all  men,  might  "  take  away  the  sin  of  the 
world."     It  was  not  by  compulsion,  therefore,  but  willingly,  that 

^  dyyih^ecTuv.  Spencer  reads  ayaA^oeraw  in  this  and  the  following 
sentences. 

2  John  xii.  24.  ^  Eom.  viii.  32. 


628  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viir. 

He  bore  the  reproaches  of  those  who  reviled  Him.  Then  Celsus, 
returning  to  those  who  apply  abusive  language  to  images,  says : 
"  Of  those  whom  you  load  with  insults,  you  may  in  like  manner 
say  that  they  voluntarily  submit  to  such  treatment,  and  therefore 
thev  bear  insults  with  patience ;  for  it  is  best  to  deal  equally 
with  both  sides.  Yet  these  severely  punish  the  scorner,  so  that 
he  must  either  flee  and  hide  himself,  or  be  taken  and  perish." 
It  is  not,  then,  because  Christians  cast  insults  upon  demons  that 
they  incur  their  revenge,  but  because  they  drive  them  away  out 
of  the  images,  and  from  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men.  And  here, 
although  Celsus  perceives  it  not,  he  has  on  this  subject  spoken 
something  like  the  truth ;  for  it  is  true  that  the  souls  of  those 
who  condemn  Christians,  and  betray  them,  and  rejoice  in  perse- 
cuting them,  are  filled  with  wicked  demons. 

CnAPTER  XLIV. 

But  when  the  souls  of  those  who  die  for  the  Christian  faith 
depart  from  the  body  with  great  glory,  they  destroy  the  power 
of  the  demons,  and  frustrate  their  designs  against  men.  AVhere- 
fore  I  imagine,  that  as  the  demons  have  learnt  from  experience 
that  they  are  defeated  and  overpowered  by  the  martyrs  for  the 
truth,  they  are  afraid  to  have  recourse  again  to  violence.  And 
thus,  until  they  forget  the  defeats  they  have  sustained,  it  is 
probable  that  the  world  will  be  at  peace  with  the  Christians. 
But  when  they  recover  their  power,  and,  with  eyes  blinded  by 
sin,  wish  again  to  take  their  revenge  on  Christians,  and  persecute 
them,  then  again  they  will  be  defeated,  and  then  again  the  souls 
of  the  godly,  who  lay  down  their  lives  for  the  cause  of  godliness, 
shall  utterly  destroy  the  army  of  the  wicked  one.  And  as  the 
demons  perceive  that  those  who  meet  death  victoriously  for  the 
sake  of  religion  destroy  their  authority,  while  those  who  give 
way  under  their  sufferings,  and  deny  the  faith,  come  under 
their  power,  I  imagine  that  at  times  they  feel  a  deep  interest 
in  Christians  when  on  their  trial,  and  keenly  strive  to  gain 
them  over  to  their  side,  feeling  as  they  do  that  their  confession 
is  torture  to  them,  and  their  denial  is  a  relief  and  encourage- 
ment to  them.  And  traces  of  the  same  feeling  may  be  seen  in 
the  demeanour  of  the  judges ;  for  they  are  greatly  distressed  at 
seeing  those  who  bear  outrage  and  torture  with  patience,  but 


Book  vni.J  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  529 

are  greatly  elated  when  a  Christian  gives  way  under  it.  Yet 
it  is  from  no  feeling  of  humanity  that  this  arises.  They  see 
well,  that,  while  "the  tongues"  of  those  who  are  overpowered 
by  the  tortures  "  may  take  the  oath,  the  mind  has  not  sworn."  ^ 
And  this  may  serve  as  an  answer  to  the  remark  of  Celsus: 
'•  But  they  severely  punish  one  Avho  reviles  them,  so  that  he 
must  either  flee  and  hide  himself,  or  be  taken  and  perish."  If 
a  Christian  ever  flees  away,  it  is  not  from  fear,  but  in  obedience 
to  the  command  of  his  Master,  that  so  he  may  preserve  himself, 
and  employ  his  strength  for  the  benefit  of  others. 

Chapter  xlv. 

Let  us  see  what  Celsus  next  goes  on  to  say.  It  is  as  follows  : 
"  What  need  is  there  to  collect  all  the  oracular  responses, 
which  have  been  delivered  with  a  divine  voice  by  priests  and 
priestesses,  as  well  as  by  others,  whether  men  or  women,  who 
were  under  a  divine  influence? — all  the  wonderful  things  that 
have  been  heard  issuing  from  the  inner  sanctuary '? — all  the 
revelations  that  have  been  made  to  those  who  consulted  the 
sacrificial  victims? — and  all  the  knowledge  that  has  been  con- 
veyed to  men  by  other  signs  and  prodigies  ?  To  some  the  gods 
have  appeared  in  visible  forms.  The  world  is  full  of  such 
instances.  How  many  cities  have  been  built  in  obedience  to 
commands  received  from  oracles ;  how  often,  in  the  same  way, 
delivered  from  disease  and  famine !  Or  again,  how  many  cities, 
from  disregard  or  forgetfulness  of  these  oracles,  have  perished 
miserably  !  How  many  colonies  have  been  established  and 
made  to  flourish  by  following  their  orders  !  How  many  princes 
and  private  persons  have,  from  this  cause,  had  prosperity  or 
adversity !  How  many  who  mourned  over  their  childlessness, 
have  obtained  the  blessing  they  asked  for !  How  many  have 
turned  away  from  themselves  the  anger  of  demons  !  How 
many  who  were  maimed  in  their  limbs,  have  had  them  restored ! 
And  again,  how  many  have  met  with  summary  punishment 
for  showing  want  of  reverence  to  the  temples — some  being 
instantly  seized  with  madness,  others  openly  confessing  their 
crimes,  others  having  put  an  end  to  their  lives,  and  others  hav- 
ing become  the  victims  of  incurable  maladies  !  Yea,  some  have 
^  Euripides,  Hippolytus. 

ORIG. — VOL.  II.  2  L 


530  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viii. 

been  slain  by  a  terrible  voice  issuing  from  the  inner  sanctuary." 
I  know  not  how  it  comes  that  Celsus  brings  forward  these  as 
undoubted  facts,  whilst  at  the  same  time  he  treats  as  mere 
fables  the  wonders  which  are  recorded  and  handed  down  to  us 
as  having  happened  among  the  Jews,  or  as  having  been  per- 
formed by  Jesus  and  His  disciples.  For  why  may  not  our 
accounts  be  true,  and  those  of  Celsus  fables  and  fictions  ?  At 
least,  these  latter  were  not  believed  by  the  followers  of  Demo- 
critus,  Epicurus,  and  Aristotle,  although  perhaps  these  Grecian 
sects  would  have  been  convinced  by  the  evidence  in  support  of 
our  miracles,  if  Moses  or  any  of  the  prophets  who  wrought 
these  wonders,  or  Jesus  Christ  Himself,  had  come  in  their  way. 

Chapter  xlvi. 

It  is  related  of  the  priestess  of  Apollo,  that  she  at  times 
allowed  herself  to  be  influenced  in  her  answers  by  bribes  ;  but 
our  prophets  were  admired  for  their  plain  truthfulness,  not  only 
by  their  contemporaries,  but  also  by  those  who  lived  in  later 
times.  For  through  the  commands  pronounced  by  the  prophets 
cities  were  founded,  men  were  cured,  and  plagues  were  stayed. 
Indeed,  the  whole  Jewish  race  went  out  as  a  colony  from  Egypt 
to  Palestine,  in  accordance  with  the  divine  oracles.  They  also, 
when  they  followed  the  commands  of  God,  were  prosperous ; 
when  they  departed  from  them,  they  suffered  reverses.  What 
need  is  there  to  quote  all  the  princes  and  private  persons  in 
Scripture  history  who  fared  well  or  ill  according  as  they  obeyed 
or  despised  the  words  of  the  prophets  ?  If  we  refer  to  those 
who  were  unhappy  because  they  were  childless,  but  who,  after 
offering  prayers  to  the  Creator  of  all,  became  fathers  and 
mothers,  let  any  one  read  the  accounts  of  Abraham  and  Sarah, 
to  whom  at  an  advanced  age  was  born  Isaac,  the  father  of  the 
whole  Jewish  nation  :  and  there  are  other  instances  of  the  same 
thing.  Let  him  also  read  the  account  of  Hezekiah,  who  not 
only  recovered  from  his  sickness,  according  to  the  prediction  of 
Isaiah,  but  was  also  bold  enough  to  say,  "  Afterwards  I  shall 
beget  children,  who  shall  declare  Thy  righteousness."  ^  And  in 
the  fourj;h  book  of  Kings  we  read  that  the  prophet  Elisha  made 
known  to  a  woman  who  had  received  him  hospitably,  that  by 
^  Isa.  xxxviii.  19  (according  to  the  LXX). 


Book  vm.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  531 

the  grace  of  God  she  should  have  a  son  ;  and  tlirough  the 
prayers  of  Elisha  she  became  a  mother.  The  maimed  were 
cured  by  Jesus  in  great  numbers.  And  the  books  of  the 
Maccabees  relate  what  punishments  were  inflicted  upon  those 
who  dared  to  profane  the  Jewish  service  in  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem. 

Chapter  xlvii. 

But  the  Greeks  will  say  that  these  accounts  are  fabulous, 
although  two  whole  nations  are  witnesses  to  their  truth.  But 
why  may  we  not  consider  the  accounts  of  the  Greeks  as  fabu- 
lous rather  than  those?  Perhaps  some  one,  however,  wishing 
not  to  appear  blindly  to  accept  his  own  statements  and  reject 
those  of  others,  would  conclude,  after  a  close  examination  of  the 
matter,  that  the  wonders  mentioned  by  the  Greeks  were  per- 
formed by  certain  demons ;  those  among  the  Jews  by  prophets 
or  by  angels,  or  by  God  through  the  means  of  angels,  and  those 
recorded  by  Christians  by  Jesus  Himself,  or  by  His  power 
working  in  His  apostles.  Let  us,  then,  compare  all  these 
accounts  together ;  let  us  examine  into  the  aim  and  purpose  of 
those  who  performed  them  ;  and  let  us  inquire  what  effect  was 
pi'oduced  upon  the  persons  on  whose  account  these  acts  of 
kindness  were  performed,  whether  beneficial  or  hurtful,  or 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other.  The  ancient  Jewish  people, 
before  they  sinned  against  God,  and  were  for  their  great 
wickedness  cast  off  by  Him,  must  evidently  have  been  a  people 
of  great  wisdom.^  But  Christians,  who  have  in  so  wonderful  a 
manner  formed  themselves  into  a  community,  appear  at  first  to 
liave  been  more  induced  by  miracles  than  by  exhortations  to 
forsake  the  institutions  of  their  fathers,  and  to  adopt  others 
which  were  quite  strange  to  them.  And  indeed,  if  we  were 
to  reason  from  what  is  probable  as  to  the  first  formation  of  the 
Christian  society,  we  should  say  that  it  is  incredible  that  the 
apostles  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  Avere  unlettered  men  of  humble 
life,  could  have  been  emboldened  to  preach  Christian  truth  to 
men  by  anything  else  than  the  power  which  was  conferred  upon 
them,  and  the  grace  which  accompanied  their  words  and  ren- 
dered them  effective ;  and  those  who  heard  them  would  not 

1  (Pi'hoaoiPou. 


532  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viii. 

have  renounced  the  old-estabhshed  usages  of  their  fathers,  and 
been  induced  to  adopt  notions  so  different  from  those  in  which 
they  had  been  brought  up,  unless  they  had  been  moved  by  some 
extraordinary  power,  and  by  the  force  of  miraculous  events. 

Chapter  xlviii. 

In  the  next  place,  Celsus,  after  referring  to  the  enthusiasm 
with  which  men  will  contend  unto  death  rather  than  abjure 
Christianity,  adds  strangely  enough  some  remarks,  in  which  he 
wishes  to  show  that  our  doctrines  are  similar  to  those  delivered 
by  the  priests  at  the  celebration  of  the  heathen  mysteries.  He 
says,  "  Just  as  you,  good  sir,  believe  in  eternal  punishments, 
so  also  do  the  priests  who  interpret  and  initiate  into  the  sacred 
mysteries.  The  same  punishments  with  which  you  threaten 
others,  they  threaten  you.  Now  it  is  w'orthy  of  examination, 
which  of  the  two  is  more  firmly  established  as  true ;  for  both 
parties  contend  with  equal  assurance  that  the  truth  is  on  their 
side.  But  if  we  require  proofs,  the  priests  of  the  heathen  gods 
produce  many  that  are  clear  and  convincing,  partly  from  won- 
ders performed  by  demons,  and  partly  from  the  answers  given 
by  oracles,  and  various  other  modes  of  divination."  He  would, 
then,  have  us  believe  that  we  and  the  interpreters  of  the  mys- 
teries equally  teach  the  doctrine  of  etei'nal  punishment,  and 
that  it  is  a  matter  for  inquiry  on  which  side  of  the  two  the 

I  truth  lies.  Xow  I  should  say  that  the  truth  lies  with  those 
who  are  able  to  induce  their  hearers  to  live  as  men  who  are 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  what  they  have  heard.  But  Jews 
and  Christians  have  been  thus  affected  by  the  doctrines  they 
hold  about  what  we  speak  of  as  the  world  to  come,  and  the  re- 
wards of  the  righteous,  and  the  punishments  of  the  wicked. 
Let  Celsus  then,  or  any  one  who  will,  show  us  who  have  been 
moved  in  this  way  in  regard  to  eternal  punishments  by  the 
teaching  of  heathen  priests  and  mystagogues.  For  surely  the  \ 
purpose  of  him  who  brought  to  light  this  doctrine  was  not  only 
to  reason  upon  the  subject  of  punishments,  and  to  strike  men 
with  terror  of  them,  but  to  induce  those  who  heard  the  truth 
to  strive  with  all  their  might  against  those  sins  which  are  the 
causes  of  punishment.  And  those  who  study  the  prophecies 
with  care,  and  are  not  content  with  a  cursory  perusal  of  the 


Book  VIII.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  533 

predictions  contained  in  them,  will  find  them  such  as  to  con- 
vince the  intelligent  and  sincere  reader  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
was  in  those  men,  and  that  with  their  writings  there  is  nothing 
in  all  the  works  of  demons,  responses  of  oracles,  or  sayings  of 
soothsayers,  for  one  moment  to  be  compared. 

Chapter  xlix. 

Let  us  see  in  what  terms  Celsus  next  addresses  us  :  "  Be- 
sides, is  it  not  most  absurd  and  inconsistent  in  you,  on  the  one 
hand,  to  make  so  much  of  the  body  as  you  do — to  expect  that 
the  same  body  Avill  rise  again,  as  though  it  were  the  best  and 
most  precious  part  of  us ;  and  yet,  on  the  other,  to  expose  it  to 
such  tortures  as  though  it  were  worthless  ?  But  men  who  hold 
such  notions,  and  are  so  attached  to  the  body,  are  not  worthy  of 
being  reasoned  with  ;  for  in  this  and  in  other  respects  they  show 
themselves  to  be  gross,  impure,  and  bent  upon  revolting  with- 
out any  reason  from  the  common  belief.  But  I  shall  direct  mv 
discourse  to  those  who  hope  for  the  enjoyment  of  eternal  life 
with  God  by  means  of  the  soul  or  mind,  whether  they  choose 
to  call  it  a  spiritual  substance,  an  intelligent  spirit,  holy  and 
blessed,  or  a  living  soul,  or  the  heavenly  and  indestructible  off- 
spring of  a  divine  and  incorporeal  nature,  or  by  whatever  name 
they  designate  the  spiritual  nature  of  man.  And  they  are 
rightly  persuaded  that  those  who  live  well  shall  be  blessed,  and 
the  unrighteous  shall  all  suffer  everlasting  punishments.  And 
from  this  doctrine  neither  they  nor  any  other  should  ever 
swerve."  Now,  as  he  has  often  already  reproached  us  for  our 
opinions  on  the  resurrection,  and  as  we  have  on  these  occasions 
defended  our  opinions  in  what  seemed  to  us  a  reasonable  way, 
we  do  not  intend,  at  each  repetition  of  the  one  objection,  to  go 
into  a  repetition  of  our  defence.  Celsus  makes  an  unfounded 
charge  against  us  when  he  ascribes  to  us  the  opinion  that  "  there  j 
is  nothing  in  our  complex  nature  better  or  more  precious  than  ^^ 
the  body ;  "  for  we  hold  that  far  beyond  all  bodies  is  the  soul,^ 
and  especially  the  reasonable  soul ;  for  it  is  the  soul,  and  not  \ 
the  body,  which  bears  the  likeness  of  the  Creator.    For,  accord- 

i  ing  to  ns,  God  is  not  corporeal,  unless  we  fall  into  the  absurd 

)  errors  of  the  followers  of  Zeno  and  Chrysippus. 


534  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viii. 

Chapter  l. 

But  since  he  reproaches  us  with  too  great  an  anxiety  about 
the  body,  let  him  know  that  when  that  feeling  is  a  wrong  one 
we  do  not  share  in  it,  and  when  it  is  indifferent  we  only  long 
for  that  which  God  has  promised  to  the  righteous.  But  Celsus 
considers  that  we  are  inconsistent  with  ourselves  when  we  count 
the  body  worthy  of  honour  from  God,  and  therefore  hope  for 
its  resurrection,  and  yet  at  the  same  time  expose  it  to  tortures 
as  though  it  were  not  worthy  of  honour.  But  surely  it  is  not 
without  honour  for  the  body  to  suffer  for  the  sake  of  godliness, 
and  to  choose  afflictions  on  account  of  virtue :  the  dishonour- 
able thing  would  be  for  it  to  waste  its  powers  in  vicious  indul- 
gence. For  the  divine  word  says :  "  What  is  an  honourable 
seed  ?  The  seed  of  man.  What  is  a  dishonourable  seed  ?  The 
seed  of  man."  ^  Moreover,  Celsus  thinks  that  he  ought  not  to 
reason  with  those  who  hope  for  the  good  of  the  body,  as  they 
are  unreasonably  intent  upon  an  object  which  can  never  satisfy 
their  expectations.  He  also  calls  them  gross  and  impure  men, 
bent  upon  creating  needless  dissensions.  But  surely  he  ought, 
as  one  of  superior  humanity,  to  assist  even  the  rude  and  de- 
praved. For  society  does  not  exclude  from  its  pale  the  coarse 
and  uncultivated,  as  it  does  the  irrational  animals,  but  our 
Creator  made  us  on  the  same  common  level  with  all  mankind. 
It  is  not  an  undignified  thing,  therefore,  to  reason  even  with  the 
coarse  and  unrefined,  and  to  try  to  bring  them  as  far  as  pos- 
sible to  a  higher  state  of  refinement — to  bring  the  impure  to 
the  highest  practicable  degree  of  purity — to  bring  the  unreasoning 
multitude  to  reason,  and  the  diseased  in  mind  to  spiritual  health. 

Chapter  li. 

In  the  next  place,  he  expresses  his  approval  of  those  who 
"  hope  that  eternal  life  shall  be  enjoyed  with  God  by  the  soul 
or  mirid,  or,  as  it  is  variously  called,  the  spiritual  nature,  the 
reasonable  soul,  intelligent,. holy,  and  blessed  ;"  and  he  allows 
the  soundness  of  the  doctrine,  that  "  those  who  had  a  good  life 
shall  be  happy,  and  the  unrighteous  shall  suffer  eternal  punish- 

1  Ecclus.  X.  19.  In  the  LXX.  the  last  clause  is,  "  What  is  a  dishonour- 
able seed  ?     They  that  transgress  the  commandments." 


Book  VIII.]  OEIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  535 

ments."  And  yet  I  wonder  at  what  follows,  more  than  at  any- 
thing that  Celsus  has  ever  said ;  for  he  adds,  "  And  from  this 
doctrine  let  not  them  or  any  one  ever  swerve."  For  certainly 
in  writing  against  Christians,  the  very  essence  of  whose  faith 
is  God,  and  the  promises  made  by  Christ  to  the  righteous,  and 
His  warnings  of  punishment  awaiting  the  wicked,  he  must  see 
that,  if  a  Christian  were  brought  to  renounce  Christianity  by 
his  arguments  against  it,  it  is  beyond  doubt  that,  along  with 
his  Christian  faith,  he  would  cast  off  the  very  doctrine  from 
which  he  says  that  no  Christian  and  no  man  should  ever 
swerve.  But  I  think  Celsus  has  been  far  surpassed  in  con- 
sideration for  his  fellow-men  by  Chrysippus  in  his  treatise. 
On  the  Suhjugation  of  the  Passions.  For  when  he  sought  to 
apply  remedies  to  the  affections  and  passions  which  oppress  and 
distract  the  human  spirit,  after  employing  such  arguments  as 
seemed  to  himself  to  be  strong,  he  did  not  shrink  from  using 
in  the  second  and  third  place  others  which  he  did  not  himself 
approve  of.  "  For,"  says  he,  "  if  it  were  held  by  any  one  that 
there  are  three  kinds  of  good,  we  must  seek  to  regulate  the 
passions  in  accordance  with  that  supposition ;  and  we  must  not 
too  curiously  inquire  into  the  opinions  held  by  a  person  at  the 
time  that  he  is  under  the  influence  of  passion,  lest,  if  we  delay 
too  long  for  the  purpose  of  overthrowing  the  opinions  by  which 
the  mind  is  possessed,  the  opportunity  for  curing  the  passion 
may  pass  away."  And  he  adds,  "  Thus,  supposing  that  pleasure 
were  the  highest  good,  or  that  he  was  of  that  opinion  whose 
mind  was  under  the  dominion  of  passion,  we  should  not  the  less 
give  him  help,  and  show  that,  even  on  the  principle  that  pleasure 
is  the  highest  and  final  good  of  man,  all  passion  is  disallowed." 
And  Celsus,  in  like  manner,  after  having  embraced  the  doctrine, 
"  that  the  righteous  shall  be  blessed,  and  the  wicked  shall  suffer 
eternal  punishments,"  should  have  followed  out  his  subject ;  and, 
after  having  advanced  what  seemed  to  him  the  chief  argument, 
he  should  have  proceeded  to  prove  and  enforce  by  further  rea- 
sons the  fruth  that  the  unjust  shall  surely  suffer  eternal  punish- 
ment, and  those  who  lead  a  good  life  shall  be  blessed. 

Chapter  lii. 

For  we  who  have  been  persuaded  by  many,  yea  by  innume- 


536  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSVS.  [Book  viri. 

rable,  arguments  to  lead  a  Christian  life,  are  especially  anxious 
to  bring  all  men  as  far  as  possible  to  receive  the  whole  system 
of  Christian  truth ;  but  when  we  meet  with  persons  who  are 
prejudiced  by  the  calumnies  thrown  out  against  Christians,  and 
who,  from  a  notion  that  Christians  are  an  impious  people,  will 
not  listen  to  any  who  offer  to  instruct  them  in  the  principles  of 
the  divine  word,  then,  on  the  common  principles  of  humanity, 
we  endeavour  to  the  best  of  our  ability  to  convince  them  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  punishment  of  the  wicked,  and  to  induce  even 
those  who  are  unwilling  to  become  Christians  to  accept  that 
truth.  And  we  are  thus  anxious  to  persuade  them  of  the 
rewards  of  right  living,  when  we  see  that  many  things  which 
we  teach  about  a  healthy  moral  life  are  also  taught  by  the 
enemies  of  our  faith.  For  you  will  find  that  they  have  not 
entirely  lost  the  common  notions  of  right  and  wrong,  of  good 
and  evil.  Let  all  men,  therefore,  when  they  look  upon 
the  universe,  observe  the  constant  revolution  of  the  unerring 
stars,  the  converse  motion  of  the  planets,  the  constitution  of 
the  atmosphere,  and  its  adaptation  to  the  necessities  of  the 
animals,  and  especially  of  man,  with  all  the  innumerable  con- 
trivances for  the  wellbeing  of  mankind ;  and  then,  after  thus 
considering  the  order  of  the  universe,  let  them  beware  of  doing 
aught  which  is  displeasing  to  the  Creator  of  this  universe,  of 
the  soul  and  its  intelligent  principle  ;  and  let  them  rest  assured 
that  punishment  shall  be  inflicted  on  the  wicked,  and  rewards 
shall  be  bestowed  upon  the  righteous,  by  Him  who  deals  with 
every  one  as  he  deserves,  and  who  will  proportion  His  rewards 
to  the  good  that  each  has  done,  and  to  the  account  of  himself 
that  he  is  able  to  give.  And  let  all  men  know  that  the  good 
shall  be  advanced  to  a  higher  state,  and  that  the  wicked  shall 
be  delivered  over  to  sufferings  and  torments,  in  punishment  of 
their  licentiousness  and  depravity,  their  cowardice,  timidity,  and 
all  their  follies. 

Chapter  ltii. 

Having  said  so  much  on  this  subject,  let  us  proceed  to  an- 
other statement  of  Celsus :  "  Since  men  are  born  united  to  a 
body,  whether  to  suit  the  order  of  the  universe,  or  that  they 
may  in  that  way  suffer  the  punishment  of  sin ;  or  because  the 


Book  viii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  537 

soul  is  oppressed  by  certain  passions  until  it  is  purged  from 
these  at  the  appointed  period  of  time, — for,  according  to  Empe- 
docles,  all  mankind  must  be  banished  from  the  abodes  of  the 
blessed  for  30,000  periods  of  time, — we  must  therefore  believe 
that  they  are  entrusted  to  certain  beings  as  keepers  of  this 
prison-house."  You  will  observe  that  Celsus,  in  these  remarks, 
speaks  of  such  weighty  matters  in  the  language  of  doubtful 
human  conjecture.  He  adds  also  various  opinions  as  to  the 
origin  of  man,  and  shows  considerable  reluctance  to  set  down 
any  of  tliese  opinions  as  false.  When  he  had  once  come  to  the 
conclusion  neither  indiscriminately  to  accept  nor  recklessly  to 
reject  the  opinions  held  by  the  ancients,  would  it  not  have 
been  in  accordance  with  that  same  rule  of  judging,  if,  when  he 
found  himself  not  disposed  to  believe  the  doctrines  taught  by 
the  Jewish  prophets  and  by  Jesus,  at  any  rate  to  have  held 
them  as  matters  open  to  inquiry  ?  And  should  he  not  have 
considered  whether  it  is  very  probable  that  a  people  who  faith- 
fully served  the  Most  High  God,  and  who  ofttimes  encountered 
numberless  dangers,  and  even  death,  rather  than  sacrifice  the 
honour  of  God,  and  what  they  believed  to  be  the  revelations  of 
His  will,  should  have  been  wholly  overlooked  by  God  ?  Should 
it  not  rather  be  thought  probable  that  people  who  despised  the 
efforts  of  human  art  to  represent  the  Divine  Being,  but  strove 
rather  to  rise  in  thought  to  the  knowlediie  of  the  Most  Hicjli, 
should  have  been  favoured  with  some  revelation  from  Himself? 
Besides,  he  ought  to  have  considered  that  the  common  Father 
and  Creator  of  all,  who  sees  and  hears  all  things,  and  who  duly 
esteems  the  intention  of  every  man  who  seeks  Him  and  desires 
to  serve  Plim,  will  grant  unto  these  also  some  of  the  benefits  of 
His  rule,  and  will  give  them  an  enlargement  of  that  knowledge 
of  Himself  which  He  has  once  bestowed  upon  them.  If  this 
had  been  remembered  by  Celsus  and  the  others  who  hate  Moses 
and  the  Jewish  prophets,  and  Jesus,  and  Plis  faithful  disciples, 
who  endured  so  much  for  the  sake  of  His  word,  they  would  not 
thus  have  reviled  Moses,  and  the  prophets,  and  Jesus,  and  His 
apostles  ;  and  they  would  not  have  singled  out  for  their  con- 
tempt the  Jews  beyond  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  said 
they  were  worse  even  than  the  Egyptians, — a  people  who,  either 
from  superstition  or  some  other  form  of  delusion,  went  as  far 


538  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viii. 

as  they  could  in  degrading  the  Divine  Being  to  the  level  of 

brute  beasts.     And  we  invite  inquiry,  not  as  though  we  wished 

to  lead  any  to  doubt  regarding  the  truths  of  Christianity,  but 

[  in  order  to  show  that  it  would  be  better  for  those  who  in  every 

';  way  revile  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  at  any  rate  to  suspend 

I  their  judgment,  and  not  so  rashly  to  state  about  Jesus  and  His 

1  apostles  such  things  as  they  do  not  know,  and  as  they  cannot 

prove,  either  by  what  the  Stoics  call  "  apprehensive  perception,"^ 

,or  by  any  other  methods  used  by  different  sects  of  philosophers 

as  criteria  of  truth. 

Chapter  hv. 

When  Celsus  adds,  "We  must  therefore  believe  that  men 
are  entrusted  to  certain  beings  who  are  the  keepers  of  this 
prison-house,"  our  answer  is,  that  the  souls  of  those  who  are 
called  by  Jeremiah  ^^  prisoners  of  the  earth,"  ^  when  eager  in 
the  pursuit  of  virtue,  are  even  in  this  life  delivered  from  the 
bondage  of  evil ;  for  Jesus  declared  this,  as  was  foretold  long 
before  His  advent  by  the  prophet  Isaiah,  when  he  said  that 
"  the  prisoners  would  go  forth,  and  they  that  were  in  darkness 
would  show  themselves." "  And  Jesus  Himself,  as  Isaiah  also 
foretold  of  Him,  arose  as  "  a  light  to  them  that  sat  in  darkness 
and  in  the  shadow  of  death,"*  so  that  we  may  therefore  say, 
"  Let  us  break  their  bands  asunder,  and  cast  their  cords  from 
us."^  If  Celsus,  and  those  who  like  him  are  opposed  to  us, 
had  been  able  to  sound  the  depths  of  the  gospel  narratives,  they 
would  not  have  counselled  us  to  put  our  confidence  in  those 
beings  whom  they  call  "  the  keepers  of  the  prison-house."  It 
is  written  in  the  Gospel  that  a  woman  was  bowed  together,  and 
could  in  no  wise  lift  up  herself.  iSnd  when  Jesus  beheld  her, 
and  perceived  from  what  cause  she  was  bowed  together,  he 
said,  "  Ought  not  this  daughter  of  Abraham,  whom  Satan  has 
bound,  lo,  these  eighteen  years,  to  be  loosed  from  this  bond  on 
the  Sabbath  day?"^  And  how  many  others  are  still  bowed 
down  and  bound  by  Satan,  who  hinders  them  from  looking  up 
at  all,  and  who  would  have  us  to  look  down  also !  And  no  one 
can  raise  them  up,  except  the  Word,  that  came  by  Jesus  Christ, 

^  Kot.Txhn'T^rix.Ti  (pctnctaiot..  -  Lam.  iii.  34.  "  Isa.  xlix.  9. 

^  Is>a.  ix.  2.  ^  Ps.  ii.  3.  ^  Luke  xiii.  11,  16. 


EooKvin.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  539 

and  that  aforetime  inspired  the  prophets.  And  Jesus  came  to 
release  those  who  were  under  the  dominion  of  the  devil ;  and, 
speaking  of  him,  He  said  with  that  depth  of  meaning  which 
characterized  His  words,  "  Now  is  the  prince  of  this  world 
judged."  We  are,  then,  indulging  in  no  baseless  calumnies 
against  demons,  but  are  condemning  their  agency  upon  earth 
as  destructive  to  mankind,  and  show  that,  under  cover  of  oracles 
and  bodily  cures,  and  such  other  means,  they  are  seeking  to 
separate  from  God  the  soul  which  has  descended  to  this  "  body 
of  humiliation;"  and  those  who  feel  this  humiliation  exclaim, 
"  O  wretched  man  that  I  am !  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the 
body  of  this  death  ?  "  ^  It  is  not  in  vain,  therefore,  that  we 
expose  our  bodies  to  be  beaten  and  tortured ;  for  surely  it  is 
not  in  vain  for  a  man  to  submit  to  such  sufferings,  if  by  that 
means  he  may  avoid  bestowing  the  name  of  gods  on  those 
earthly  spirits  that  unite  with  their  worshippers  to  bring  him  to 
destruction.  Indeed,  we  think  it  both  reasonable  in  itself  and 
well-pleasing  to  God,  to  suffer  pain  for  the  sake  of  virtue,  to 
undergo  torture  for  the  sake  of  piety,  and  even  to  suffer  death 
for  the  sake  of  holiness ;  for  "  precious  in  the  sight  of  God  is 
the  death  of  His  saints ; "  ^  and  we  maintain  that  to  overcome 
the  love  of  life  is  to  enjoy  a  great  good.  But  when  Celsus 
compares  us  to  notorious  criminals,  who  justly  suffer  punish- 
ment for  their  crimes,  and  does  not  shrink  from  placing  so 
laudable  a  purpose  as  that  which  we  set  before  us  upon  the 
same  level  with  the  obstinacy  of  criminals,  he  makes  himself 
the  brother  and  companion  of  those  who  accounted  Jesus  among 
criminals,  fulfilling  the  Scripture,  which  saith,  "  He  was  num- 
bered with  transgressors."  ^ 

Chapter  lv. 

Celsus  goes  on  to  say :  "  They  must  make  their  choice  between 
two  alternatives.  If  they  refuse  to  render  due  service  to  the 
gods,  and  to  respect  those  who  are  set  over  this  service,  let  them 
not  come  to  manhood,  or  marry  wives,  or  have  children,  or 
indeed  take  any  share  in  the  affairs  of  life ;  but  let  them  depart 
hence  with  all  speed,  and  leave  no  posterity  behind  them,  that 
such  a  race  may  become  extinct  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 
^  Rom.  vii.  24.  '■^  Ps.  cxvi.  15.  ^  Isa.  liu.  12. 


540  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viir. 

Or,  on  the  other  hand,  if  they  \\\\\  take  wives,  and  bring  up 
children,  and  taste  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  and  partake  of  all 
the  blessings  of  life,  and  bear  its  appointed  sorrows  (for  nature 
herself  hath  allotted  sorrows  to  all  men ;  for  sorrows  must 
exist,  and  earth  is  the  only  place  for  them),  then  must  they 
discharge  the  duties  of  life  until  they  are  released  from  its 
bonds,  and  render  due  honour  to  those  beings  who  control  the 
affairs  of  this  life,  if  they  would  not  show  themselves  ungrateful 
to  them.  For  it  would  be  unjust  in  them,  after  receiving  tiie 
good  things  which  they  dispense,  to  pay  them  no  tribute  in 
return."  To  this  we  reply,  that  there  appears  to  us  to  be  no 
good  reason  for  our  leaving  this  world,  except  when  piety  and 
virtue  require  it ;  as  when,  for  example,  those  who  are  set  as 
judges,  and  think  that  they  have  power  over  our  lives,  place 
before  us  the  alternative  either  to  live  in  violation  of  the  com- 
mands of  Jesus,  or  to  die  if  we  continue  obedient  to  them. 
But  God  has  allowed  us  to  marry,  because  all  are  not  fit  for  the 
higher,  that  is,  the  perfectly  pure  life ;  and  God  would  have  us 
to  bring  up  all  our  children,  and  not  to  destroy  any  of  the  off- 
spring given  us  by  His  providence.  And  this  does  not  conflict 
with  our  purpose  not  to  obey  the  demons  that  are  on  the  earth  ; 
for,  "being  armed  with  the  whole  armour  of  God,  we  stand" ^  as 
athletes  of  piety  against  the  race  of  demons  that  plot  against  us. 

Chapter  lvi. 

Although,  therefore,  Celsus  would,  in  his  own  words,  "drive 
us  with  all  haste  out  of  life,"  so  that  "  such  a  race  may  become 
extinct  from  the  earth  ;  "  yet  we,  along  with  those  who  worship 
the  Creator,  will  live  according  to  the  laws  of  God,  never  con- 
senting to  obey  the  laws  of  sin.  We  will  marry  if  we  wish, 
andloring  up  the  children  given  to  us  in  marriage ;  and  if  need 
be,  we  will  not  only  partake  of  the  blessings  of  life,  but  bear"  its 
appointed  sorrows  as  a  trial  to  our  souls.  For  in  this  way  is 
divine  Scripture  accustomed  to  speak  of  human  afflictions,  by 
which,  as  gold  is  tried  in  the  fii'e,  so  the  spirit  of  man  is  tried, 
and  is  found  to  be  worthy  either  of  condemnation  or  of  praise. 
For  those  things  which  Celsus  calls  evils  we  are  therefore 
prepared,  and  are  ready  to  say,  "  Try  me,  O  Lord,  and  prove 

1  Eph.  vi.  11. 


Book  viii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  541 

me;  purge  my  reins  and  my  heart."  ^  For  "no  one  will  be 
crowned,"  unless  here  upon  earth,  with  this  body  of  humiliation, 
"  he  strive  lawfully."  ^  Further,  we  do  not  pay  honours  sup- 
posed to  be  due  to  those  whom  Celsus  speaks  of  as  being  set 
over  the  affairs  of  the  world.  For  we  worship  the  Lord  our 
God,  and  Him  only  do  w'e  serve,  and  desire  to  be  followers  of 
Christ,  who,  wdien  the  devil  said  to  Him,  "  All  these  things  will 
I  give  thee  if  thou  wilt  fall  down  and  worship  me,"  answered 
him  by  the  w^ords,  "  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and 
Him  only  shalt  thou  serve."  ^  Wherefore  we  do  not  render  the 
honour  supposed  to  be  due  to  those  who,  according  to  Celsus, 
are  set  over  the  affairs  of  this  world ;  for  "  no  man  can  serve 
two  masters,"  and  we  "  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon," 
whether  this  name  be  applied  to  one  or  more.  Moreover,  if 
any  one  "  by  transgressing  the  law  dishonours  the  lawgiver," 
it  seems  clear  to  us  that  if  the  two  laws,  the  law  of  God  and 
the  law  of  mammon,  are  completely  opposed  to  each  other,  it 
is  better  for  us  by  transgressing  the  law  of  mammon  to  dis- 
honour mammon,  that  we  may  honour  God  by  keeping  His 
law,  than  by  transgressing  the  law  of  God  to  dishonour  God, 
that  by  obeying  the  law  of  mammon  we  may  honour  mammon. 

Chapter  lvii. 

Celsus  supposes  that  men  "  discharge  the  duties  of  life  until 
they  are  loosened  from  its  bonds,"  when,  in  accordance  with 
commonly  received  customs,  they  offer  sacrifices  to  each  of  the 
gods  recognised  in  the  state ;  and  he  fails  to  perceive  the  true 
duty  which  is  fulfilled  by  an  earnest  piety.  For  w^e  say  that 
he  truly  discharges  the  duties  of  life  who  is  ever  mindful  who 
is  his  Creator,  and  what  things  are  agreeable  to  Him,  and  who 
acts  in  all  things  so  that  he  may  please  God.  Again,  Celsus 
wishes  us  to  be  thankful  to  these  demons,  imagining  that  we 
owe  them  thankofferiugs.  But  we,  while  recognising  the  duty 
of  thankfulness,  maintain  that  we  show  no  ingratitude  by  re- 
fusing to  give  thanks  to  beings  who  do  us  no  good,  but  who 
rather  set  themselves  against  us  when  we  neither  sacrifice  to 
them  nor  worship  them.  "We  are  much  more  concerned  lest 
we  should  be  ungrateful  to  God,  who  has  loaded  us  with  His 
1  Ps.  xxvi.  2.  2  2  Tim.  ii.  5.  ^  j^jatt.  iv.  9,  10. 


542  OrJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viii. 

benefits,  whose  workmanship  we  are,  who  cares  for  us  in  what- 
ever condition  we  may  be,  and  who  has  given  us  hopes  of 
.  things  beyond  this  present  life.  And  we  have  a  s3'mbol  of 
I  gratitude  to  God  in  the  bread  which  we  call  the  Eucharist. 
Besides,  as  Ave  have  shown  before,  the  demons  have  not  the 
control  of  those  things  which  have  been  created  for  our  use ; 
we  commit  no  wrong,  therefore,  when  we  partake  of  created 
things,  and  yet  refuse  to  offer  sacrifices  to  beings  who  have  no 
concern  with  them.  Moreover,  as  we  know  that  it  is  not 
/,  demons,  but  angels,  who  have  been  set  over  the  fruits  of  the 
earth,  and  over  the  birth  of  animals,  it  is  the  latter  that  we 
praise  and  bless,  as  having  been  appointed  by  God  over  the 
things  needful  for  our  race ;  yet  even  to  them  we  will  not  give 
the  honour  which  is  due  to  God.  For  this  would  not  be  pleas- 
ing to  God,  nor  would  it  be  any  pleasure  to  the  angels  them- 
selves to  whom  these  things  have  been  committed.  Indeed, 
they  are  much  more  pleased  ;if  we  refrain  from  offering  sacri- 
fices to  them  than  if  we  offer  them ;  for  they  have  no  desire 
for  the  sacrificial  odours  which  rise  from  the  earth. 

Chapter  lviii. 

Celsus  goes  on  to  say :  "  Let  any  one  inquire  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, and  he  will  find  that  everything,  even  to  the  most  insig- 
nificant, is  committed  to  the  care  of  a  certain  demon.  The 
body  of  man  is  divided  into  thirty-six  parts,  and  as  many  demons 
of  the  air  are  appointed  to  the  care  of  it,  each  having  charge  of 
a  different  part,  although  others  make  the  number  much  larger. 
All  these  demons  have  in  the  language  of  that  country  distinct 
names  ;  as  Chnoumen,  Ghnachoumen,  Gnat,  Sicat,  Biou,  Erou, 
Erebiou,  Eamanor,  Reianoor,  and  other  such  Egyptian  names. 
Moreover,  they  call  upon  them,  and  are  cured  of  diseases  of 
particular  parts  of  the  body.  What,  then,  is  there  to  prevent 
a  man  from  giving  honour  to  these  or  to  others,  if  he  would 
rather  be  in  health  than  be  sick,  rather  have  prosperity  than 
adversity,  and  be  freed  as  much  as  possible  from  all  plagues 
and  troubles  ?  "  In  this  way,  Celsus  seeks  to  degrade  our  souls 
to  the  worship  of  demons,  under  the  assumption  that  they  have 
possession  of  our  bodies,  and  that  each  one  has  power  over  a 
separate  member.     And  he  wishes  us  on  this  ground  to  put 


Book  VIII.]  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  543 

confidence  in  these  demons  of  which  he  speaks,  and  to  serve 
them,  in  order  that  we  may  be  in  health  rather  than  be  sick, 
liave  prosperity  rather  than  adversity,  and  may  as  far  as  possible 
escape  all  plagues  and  troubles.  The  honour  of  the  Most  High 
God,  which  cannot  be  divided  or  shared  with  another,  is  so 
lightly  esteemed  by  him,  that  he  cannot  believe  in  the  ability 
of  God,  if  called  upon  and  highly  honoured,  to  give  to  those 
who  serve  Him  a  power  by  which  they  may  be  defended  from 
the  assaults  directed  by  demons  against  the  righteous.  For  he 
has  never  beheld  the  efficacy  of  those  words,  "  in  the  name  of 
Jesus,"  when  uttered  by  the  truly  faithful,  to  deliver  not  a  few 
from  demons  and  demoniacal  possessions  and  other  plagues. 

Chapter  lix. 

Probably  those  who  embrace  the  views  of  Celsus  will  smile 
at  us  when  we  say,  "  At  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee  shall 
bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  of  things  on  earth,  and  of  things 
under  the  earth,  and  every  tongue  "  is  brought  to  "  confess  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glor}^  of  God  the  Father."^  But 
although  they  may  ridicule  such  a  statement,  yet  they  will  re- 
ceive much  more  convincing  arguments  in  support  of  it  than 
Celsus  brings  in  behalf  of  Chnoumen,  Chnachoumen,  Cnat, 
Sicat,  and  the  rest  of  the  Egyptian  catalogue,  whom  he  mentions 
as  being  called  upon,  and  as  healing  the  diseases  of  different 
parts  of  the  human  body.  And  observe  how,  while  seeking  to 
turn  us  away  from  our  faith  in  the  God  of  all  through  Jesus 
Christ,  he  exhorts  us  for  the  welfare  of  our  bodies  to  faith  in  six- 
and-thirty  barbarous  demons,  whom  the  Egyptian  magi  alone 
call  upon  in  some  unknown  way,  and  promise  us  in  return  great 
Ijenefits.  According  to  Celsus,  then,  it  would  be  better  for  us 
now  to  give  ourselves  up  to  magic  and  sorcery  than  to  embrace 
Christianity,  and  to  put  our  faith  in  an  innumerable  multitude 
of  demons  than  in  the  almighty,  living,  self-revealing  God,  who 
has  manifested  Himself  by  Him  who  by  His  great  power  has 
spread  the  true  principles  of  holiness  among  all  men  throughout 
J  the  world  ;  yea,  I  may  add  without  exaggeration.  He  has  given 
)ihis  knowledge  to  all  beings  everywhere  possessed  of  reason, 
and  needing  deliverance  from  the  plague  and  corruption  of  sin. 
1  Phil.  ii.  10,  11. 


544  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viii. 


Chapter  lx. 

Celsus,  however,  suspecting  that  the  tendency  of  such  teach- 
ing as  he  here  gives  is  to  lead  to  magic,  and  dreading  that  harm 
may  arise  from  these  statements,  adds :  "  Care,  however,  must 
be  taken  lest  any  one,  by  familiarizing  his  mind  with  these 
matters,  should  become  too  much  engrossed  with  them,  and  lest, 
through  an  excessive  regard  for  the  body,  he  should  have  his 
mind  turned  away  from  higher  things,  and  allow  them  to  pass 
into  oblivion.  For  perhaps  we  ought  not  to  despise  the  opinion 
of  those  wise  men  who  say  that  most  of  the  earth-demons  are 
taken  up  with  carnal  indulgence,  blood,  odours,  sweet  sounds, 
and  other  such  sensual  things ;  and  therefore  they  are  unable 
to  do  more  than  heal  the  body,  or  foretell  the  fortunes  of  men 
and  cities,  and  do  other  such  things  as  relate  to  this  mortal  life." 
If  there  is,  then,  such  a  dangerous  tendency  in  this  direction, 
as  even  the  enemy  of  the  truth  of  God  confesses,  how  much 
better  is  it  to  avoid  all  danger  of  giving  ourselves  too  much  up 
to  the  power  of  such  demons,  and  of  becoming  turned  aside 
from  higher  things,  and  suffering  them  to  pass  into  oblivion 
through  an  excessive  attention  to  the  body ;  by  entrusting  our- 
selves to  the  Supreme  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  who  has  given 
us  such  instruction,  and  asking  of  Him  all  help,  and  the  guar- 
dianship of  holy  and  good  angels,  to  defend  us  from  the  earth- 
spirits  intent  on  lust,  and  blood,  and  sacrificial  odours,  and 
strange  sounds,  and  other  sensual  things  !  For  even,  by  the 
confession  of  Celsus,  they  can  do  nothing  more  than  cure  the 
body.  But,  indeed,  I  would  say  that  it  is  not  clear  that  these 
demons,  however  much  they  are  reverenced,  can  even  cure  the  • 
body.  But  in  seeking  recovery  from  disease,  a  man  must 
either  follow  the  more  ordinary  and  simple  method,  and  have 
recourse  to  medical  art ;  or  if  he  would  go  beyond  the  common 
methods  adopted  by  men,  he  must  rise  to  the  higher  and  better 
way  of  seeking  the  blessing  of  Him  who  is  God  over  all, 
through  piety  and  prayers. 

Chapter  lxi. 

For  consider  with  yourself  which  disposition  of  mind  will  be 
more  acceptable  to  the  Most  High,  whose  power  is  supreme 


Book  viii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  545 

and  universal,  and  who  directs  all  for  the  welfare  of  mankind 
in  body,  and  in  mind,  and  in  outward  things, — whether  that 
of  the  man  who  gives  himself  up  to  God  in  all  things,  or  that 
of  the  man  who  is  curiously  inquisitive  about  the  names  of 
demons,  their  powers  and  agency,  the  incantations,  the  herbs 
proper  to  them,  and  the  stones  with  the  inscriptions  graven  on 
them,  corresponding  symbolically  or  otherwise  to  their  tradi- 
tional shapes?  It  is  plain  even  to  the  least  intelligent,  that  the 
disposition  of  the  man  who  is  simple-minded,  and  not  given  to 
curious  inquiries,  but  in  all  things  devoted  to  the  divine  will, 
will  be  most  pleasing  to  God,  and  to  all  those  who  are  like  God  ; 
but  that  of  the  man  who,  for  the  sake  of  bodily  health,  of 
bodily  enjoyment,  and  outward  prosperity,  busies  himself  about 
the  names  of  demons,  and  inquires  by  wliat  incantations  he 
shall  appease  them,  will  be  condemned  by  God  as  bad  and  im- 
pious, and  more  agreeable  to  the  nature  of  demons  than  of  men, 
and  will  be  given  over  to  be  torn  and  otherwise  tormented  by 
demons.  For  it  is  probable  that  the}',  as  being  wicked  creatures, 
and,  as  Celsus  confesses,  addicted  to  blood,  sacrificial  odours, 
sweet  sounds,  and  such  like,  will  not  keep  their  most  solemn 
promises  to  those  wdio  supply  them  with  these  things.  For  if 
others  invoke  their  aid  against  the  persons  who  have  already 
called  upon  them,  and  purchase  their  favour  with  a  larger 
supply  of  blood,  and  odours,  and  such  offerings  as  they  require, 
they  will  take  part  against  those  who  yesterday  sacrificed  and 
presented  pleasant  offerings  to  them. 

Chapter  lxii. 

In  a  former  passage,  Celsus  had  spoken  at  length  on  the  sub- 
ject of  oracles,  and  had  referred  us  to  their  answers  as  being 
the  voice  of  the  gods ;  but  now  he  makes  amends,  and  confesses 
that  "  those  who  foretell  the  fortunes  of  men  and  cities,  and 
concern  themselves  about  mortal  affairs,  are  earth-spirits,  who 
are  given  up  to  fleshly  lust,  blood,  odours,  sweet  sounds,  and 
other  such  things,  and  who  are  unable  to  rise  above  these  sen- 
sual objects."  Perhaps,  when  we  opposed  the  theological  teach- 
ing of  Celsus  in  regard  to  oracles,  and  the  honour  done  to 
those  called  gods,  some  one  might  suspect  us  of  impiety  when 
we  alleged  that  these  were  stratagems  of  demoniacal  powers,  to 

OKIG. — VOL.  II.  2  M 


546  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vur. 

draw  men  away  to  carnal  indulgence.  But  any  who  enter- 
tained this  suspicion  against  us,  may  now  believe  that  the  state- 
ments put  forth  by  Christians  were  well-founded,  when  they 
see  the  above  passage  from  the  writings  of  one  who  is  a  pro- 
fessed adversary  of  Christianity,  but  who  now  at  length  writes 
as  one  who  has  been  overcome  by  the  spirit  of  truth.  Although, 
therefore,  Celsus  says  that  "  we  must  offer  sacrifices  to  them, 
in  so  far  as  they  are  profitable  to  us,  for  to  offer  them  indis- 
criminately is  not  allowed  by  reason,"  yet  we  are  not  to  offer 
sacrifices  to  demons  addicted  to  blood  and  odours;  nor  is  the 
Divine  Being  to  be  profaned  in  our  minds,  by  being  brought 
down  to  the  level  of  wicked  demons.  If  Celsus  had  carefully 
weighed  the  meaning  of  the  word  "profitable,"  and  had  con- 
sidered that  the  truest  profit  lies  in  virtue  and  in  virtuous 
action,  he  would  not  have  applied  the  phrase  "  as  far  as  it  is 
profitable  "  to  the  service  of  such  demons,  as  he  has  acknow- 
ledged them  to  be.  If,  then,  health  of  body  and  success  in  life 
were  to  come  to  us  on  condition  of  our  serving  such  demons, 
J  we  should  prefer  sickness  and  misfortune  accompanied  with 
the  consciousness  of  our  being  truly  devoted  to  the  will  of  God. 
iFor  this  is  preferable  to  being  mortally  diseased  in  mind,  and 
wretched  through  being  separate  and  outcasts  from  God,  though 
'healthy  in  body  and  abounding  in  earthly  prosperity.  And  we 
would  rather  go  for  help  to  one  who  seeks  nothing  whatever 
but  the  well-being  of  men  and  of  all  rational  creatures,  than  to 
those  that  delight  in  blood  and  sacrificial  odours. 

Chapter  lxiii. 

After  having  said  so  much  of  the  demons,  and  of  their  fond- 
ness for  blood  and  the  odour  of  sacrifices,  Celsus  adds,  as 
though  wishing  to  retract  the  charge  he  had  made :  "  The  more 
just  opinion  is,  that  demons  desire  nothing  and  need  nothing, 
but  that  they  take  pleasure  in  those  who  discharge  towards 
them  offices  of  piety."  If  Celsus  believed  this  to  be  true, 
he  should  have  said  so,  instead  of  making  his  previous  state- 
ments. But,  indeed,  human  nature  is  never  utterly  forsaken 
\by  God  and  His  only- begotten  Son,  the  truth.  Wherefore 
even  Celsus  spoke  the  truth  when  he  made  the  demons  take 
pleasure  in  the  blood  and  smoke  of  victims ;  although,  by  the 


Book  viii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  547 

force  of  his  own  evil  nature,  he  falls  back  into  his  errors,  and 
compares  demons  with  men  who  rigorously  discharge  every 
duty,  even  to  those  who  show  no  gratitude ;  while  to  those 
who  are  grateful  they  abound  in  acts  of  kindness.  Here 
Celsus  appears  to  me  to  get  into  confusion.  At  one  time  his 
judgment  is  darkened  by  the  influence  of  demons,  and  at 
another  he  recovers  from  their  deluding  power,  and  gets  some 
glimpses  of  the  truth.  For  again  he  adds:  "We  must  never 
in  any  way  lose  our  hold  of  God,  whether  by  day  or  by  night, 
whether  in  public  or  in  secret,  whether  in  word  or  in  deed, 
but  in  whatever  we  do,  or  abstain  from  doing."  That  is,  as 
I  understand  it,  whatever  we  do  in  public,  in  all  our  actions, 
in  all  our  words,  "let  the  soul  be  constantly  fixed  upon  God." 
And  yet  again,  as  though,  after  struggling  in  argument  against 
the  insane  inspirations  of  demons,  he  were  completely  overcome 
by  them,  he  adds :  "  If  this  is  the  case,  what  harm  is  there  in 
gaining  the  favour  of  the  rulers  of  the  earth,  whether  of  a 
nature  different  from  ours,  or  human  princes  and  kings?  For 
these  have  gained  their  dignity  through  the  instrumentality  of 
demons."  In  a  former  part,  Celsus  did  his  utmost  to  debase 
our  souls  to  the  worship  of  demons ;  and  now  he  wishes  us  to 
seek  the  favour  of  kings  and  princes,  of  whom,  as  the  world  and 
all  history  are  full  of  them,  I  do  not  consider  it  necessary  to 
quote  examples. 

Chapter  lxiv. 

There  is  therefore  One  whose  favour  we  should  seek,  and  to 
whom  we  ought  to  pray  that  He  would  be  gracious  to  us — the 
Most  High  God,  whose  favour  is  gained  by  piety  and  the  prac- 
tice of  every  virtue.    And  if  he  would  have  us  to  seek  the  favour 
of  others  after  the  Most  High  God,  let  him  consider  that,  as  the 
motion  of  the  shadow  follows  that  of  the  body  which  casts  it, 
so  in  like  manner  it  follows,  that  when  we  have  the  favour  of 
God,  we  have  also  the  goodwill  of  all  angels  and  spirits  who 
are  friends  of  God.     For  they  know  who  are  worthy  of  the 
divine  approval,  and  they  are  not  only  well  disposed  to  them, 
I  but  they  co-operate  with  them  in  their  endeavours  to  please 
I  God :  they  seek  His  favour  on  their  behalf  ;  with  their  prayers 
'  they  join  their  own  prayers  and  intercessions  for  them.     We 


548  OPdGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  yiii. 

may  indeed  boldly  say,  that  men  who  aspire  after  better  things 
have,  when  they  pray  to  God,  tens  of  thousands  of  sacred  powers 
upon  their  side.  These,  even  when  not  asked,  pray  with  them, 
they  bring  succour  to  our  mortal  race,  and  if  I  may  so  say,  take 
up  arms  alongside  of  it :  for  they  see  demons  warring  and 
fighting  most  keenly  against  the  salvation  of  those  who  devote 
themselves  to  God,  and  despise  the  hostility  of  demons ;  they 
see  them  savage  in  their  hatred  of  the  man  who  refuses  to  serve 
them  with  the  blood  and  fumes  of  sacrifices,  but  rather  strives 
in  every  way,  by  word  and  deed,  to  be  in  peace  and  union  with 
the  Most  High  through  Jesus,  who  put  to  flight  multitudes  of 
demons  when  He  went  about  "healinfr,"  and  delivering  ''all 
who  were  oppressed  by  the  devil."  ^ 

Chapter  lxv. 

Moreover,  we  are  to  despise  ingratiating  ourselves  with  kings 
or  any  other  men,  not  only  if  their  favour  is  to  be  won  by  murders, 
licentiousness,  or  deeds  of  cruelty,  but  even  if  it  involves  impiety 
towards  God,  or  any  servile  expressions  of  flattery  and  obsequi- 
ousness, which  things  are  unworthy  of  brave  and  high-principled 
men,  who  aim  at  joining  with  their  other  virtues  that  highest  of 
virtues,  patience  and  fortitude.  But  whilst  we  do  nothing  which 
is  contrary  to  the  law  and  word  of  God,  we  are  not  so  mad  as  to 
stir  up  against  us  the  wrath  of  kings  and  princes,  which  will 
bring  upon  us  sufferings  and  tortures,  or  even  death.  For  we 
read :  "  Let  every  soul  be  subject  unto  the  higher  powers.  For 
there  is  no  power  but  of  God  :  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained 
of  God.  Whosoever  therefore  resisteth  the  power,  resisteth  the 
ordinance  of  God."^  These  words  we  have  in  our  exposition  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  to  the  best  of  our  ability,  explained 
at  length,  and  with  various  applications ;  but  for  the  present  wo 
have  taken  them  in  their  more  obvious  and  generally  received 
acceptation,  to  meet  the  saying  of  Celsus,  that  "  it  is  not  without 
the  power  of  demons  that  kings  have  been  raised  to  their  regal 
dignity."  Here  much  might  be  said  on  the  constitution  of  kings 
and  rulers,  for  the  subject  is  a  wide  one,  embracing  such  rulers 
as  reign  cruelly  and  tyrannically,  and  such  as  make  the  kingly 
ofKce  the  means  of  indulging  in  luxury  and  sinful  pleasures. 
1  Acts  X.  38.  2  Kom,  xiii.  l,  2. 


Book  VIII.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  549 

We  shall  therefore,  for  the  present,  pass  over  the  full  considera- 
tion of  this  subject.  We  will,  however,  never  swear  by  "  the 
fortune  of  the  king,"  nor  by  aught  else  that  is  considered  equiva- 
lent to  God.  For  if  the  word  "  fortune  "  is  nothing  but  an  ex- 
pression for  the  uncertain  course  of  events,  as  some  say,  although 
they  seem  not  to  be  agreed,  we  do  not  swear  by  that  as  God 
which  has  no  existence,  as  tiiough  it  did  really  exist  and  was 
able  to  do  sometliing,  lest  we  should  bind  ourselves  by  an  oath 
to  things  which  have  no  existence.  If,  on  the  other  hand  (as  is 
thought  by  others,  who  say  that  to  swear  by  the  fortune  of  the 
king  of  the  Romans  is  to  swear  by  his  demon),  wdiat  is  called 
the  fortune  of  the  king  is  in  the  power  of  demons,  then  in  that 
case  we  must  die  sooner  than  swear  by  a  wicked  and  treacherous 
demon,  that  ofttimes  sins  along  with  the  man  of  whom  it  gains 
possession,  and  sins  even  more  than  he. 

Chapter  lxvi. 

Then  Celsus,  following  the  example  of  those  who  are  under 
the  influence  of  demons — at  one  time  recovering,  at  another 
relapsing,  as  though  he  were  again  becoming  sensible — says  : 
''  If,  however,  any  worshipper  of  God  should  be  ordered  to  do 
anything  impious,  or  to  say  anything  base,  such  a  command 
should  in  no  wise  be  regarded  ;  but  we  must  encounter  all 
kinds  of  torment,  or  submit  to  any  kind  of  death,  rather  than 
say  or  even  think  anything  unworthy  of  God."  Again,  how- 
ever, from  ignorance  of  our  principles,  and  in  entire  confusion 
of  thought,  he  says :  "  But  if  any  one  commands  you  to  cele- 
brate the  sun,  or  to  sing  a  joyful  triumphal  song  in  praise  of 
Minerva,  you  will  by  celebrating  their  praises  seem  to  render 
the  higher  praise  to  God  ;  for  piety,  in  extending  to  all  things, 
becomes  more  perfect."  To  this  our  answer  is,  that  we  do  not 
wait  for  any  command  to  celebrate  the  praises  of  the  sun ;  for 
we  have  been  taught  to  speak  well  not  only  of  those  creatures 
that  are  obedient  to  the  will  of  God,  but  even  of  our  enemies. 
We  therefore  praise  the  sun  as  the  glorious  workmanship  of 
God,  which  obeys  His  laws  and  hearkens  to  the  call,  "  Praise 
the  Lord,  sun  and  moon,"  ^  and  with  all  your  powers  show  forth 
the  praises  of  the  Father  and  Creator  of  all.  Minerva,  how- 
1  Ps.  cxlviii.  3. 


550  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viii. 

ever,  whom  Celsus  classes  with  the  sun,  is  the  subject  of  various 
Grecian  myths,  whether  these  contain  any  hidden  meaning  or 
not.  They  say  that  Minerva  sprang  fully  armed  from  the  brain 
of  Jupiter ;  that  when  she  was  pursued  by  Vulcan,  she  fled  from 
him  to  preserve  her  honour ;  and  that  from  the  seed  which  fell 
to  the  ground  in  the  heat  of  Vulcan's  passion,  there  grew  a 
child  whom  Minerva  brought  up  and  called  Erichthonius, 

"  That  owed  his  nurture  to  the  blue-eyed  maid, 
But  from  the  teeming  furrow  took  his  birth, 
The  mighty  offspring  of  the  foodful  earth."  ^ 

It  is  therefore  evident,  that  if  we  admit  Minerva  the  daughter 
of  Jupiter,  we  must  also  admit  many  fables  and  fictions  which 
can  be  allowed  by  no  one  who  discards  fables  and  seeks  after 
truth. 

Chapter  lxvii. 

And  to  regard  these  myths  in  a  figurative  sense,  and  consider 
Minerva  as  representing  prudence,  let  any  one  show  what  were 
the  actual  facts  of  her  history,  upon  which  this  allegory  is 
based.  For,  supposing  honour  was  given  to  Minerva  as  having 
been  a  woman  of  ancient  times,  by  those  who  instituted  mys- 
teries and  ceremonies  for  their  followers,  and  who  wished  her 
name  to  be  celebrated  as  that  of  a  goddess,  much  more  are  we 
forbidden  to  pay  divine  honours  to  Minerva,  if  we  are  not  per- 
mitted to  worship  so  glorious  an  object  as  the  sun,  although  we 
may  celebrate  its  glory.  Celsus,  indeed,  says  that  "  we  seem 
to  do  the  greater  honour  to  the  great  God  when  we  sing  hymns 
in  honour  of  the  sun  and  Minerva;"  but  we  know  it  to  be  the 
I  opposite  of  that.  For  we  sing  hymns  to  the  Most  High  alone, 
\  and  His  Only-begotten,  who  is  tbe  Word  and  God ;  and  we  praise 
f  God  and  His  Only-begotten,  as  do  also  the  sun,  the  moon,  the 
stars,  and  all  the  host  of  heaven.  For  these  all  form  a  divine 
chorus,  and  unite  with  the  just  among  men  in  celebrating  the 
praises  of  the  Most  High  God  and  His  Only-begotten.  We 
have  already  said  that  we  must  not  swear  by  a  human  king,  or 
by  what  is  called  "  the  fortune  of  the  king."  It  is  therefore 
unnecessary  for  us  again  to  refute  these  statements :  "  If  you 
are  commanded  to  swear  by  a  human  king,  there  is  nothing 
^  Homer's  Iliad,  ii.  547,  548. 


Book  viii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  551 

wrong  ill  that.  For  to  him  has  been  given  whatever  there  is 
upon  earth ;  and  whatever  you  receive  in  this  life,  you  receive 
from  him."  We  deny,  however,  that  all  things  which  are  on 
the  earth  have  been  given  to  the  king,  or  that  whatever  we 
receive  in  this  life  we  receive  from  him.  For  whatever  we 
receive  rightly  and  honourably''  we  receive  from  God,  and  by 
His  providence,  as  ripe  fruits,  and  "  corn  which  strengtheneth 
man's  heart,  and  the  pleasant  vine,  and  wine  which  rejoiceth 
the  heart  of  man."^  And  moreover,  the  fruit  of  the  olive-tree, 
to  make  his  face  to  shine,  we  have  from  the  providence  of  God. 

Chapter  lxviii. 

Celsus  goes  on  to  say :  "  We  must  not  disobey  the  ancient 
writer,  who  said  long  ago, 

'  Let  one  be  king,  whom  the  son  of  crafty  Saturn  appointed  ; ' "  ^ 

and  adds :  "  If  you  set  aside  this  maxim,  you  will  deservedly 
suffer  for  it  at  the  hands  of  the  king.  For  if  all  were  to  do  the 
same  as  you,  there  would  be  nothing  to  prevent  his  being  left 
in  utter  solitude  and  desertion,  and  the  affairs  of  the  earth 
would  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  wildest  and  most  lawless  bar- 
barians ;  and  then  there  would  no  longer  remain  among  men 
any  of  the  glory  of  your  religion  or  of  the  true  wisdom."  If, 
then,  "  there  shall  be  one  lord,  one  king,"  he  must  be,  not  the 
man  "  whom  the  son  of  crafty  Saturn  appointed,"  but  the  man 
to  whom  He  gave  the  power,  who  "  removeth  kings  and  setteth 
up  kings,"  ^  and  who  "  raiseth  up  the  useful  man  in  time  of 
need  upon  earth."  *  For  kings  are  not  appointed  by  that  son 
of  Saturn,  who,  according  to  Grecian  fable,  hurled  his  father 
from  his  throne,  and  sent  him  down  to  Tartarus  (whatever 
interpretation  may  be  given  to  this  allegory),  but  by  God,  who 
governs  all  things,  and  who  wisely  arranges  whatever  belongs 
to  the  appointment  of  kings.  We  therefore  do  set  aside  the 
maxim  contained  in  the  line, 

"  "Whom  tlie  sou  of  crafty  Saturn  appointed ;" 

for  we  know  that  no  god  or  father  of  a  god  ever  devises  any- 
thing crooked  or  crafty.    But  we  are  far  from  setting  aside  the 

1  Ps.  ci\^.  15.  2  Homer's  lUad,  ii.  205. 

3  Dan.  ii.  21.  *  Ecclus.  x.  4. 


552  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viii. 

notion  of  a  providence,  and  of  things  happening  directly  or 
indirectly  through  the  agency  of  providence.  And  the  king 
Avill  not  "  inflict  deserved  punishment"  upon  us,  if  we  say  that 
not  the  son  of  crafty  Saturn  gave  him  his  kingdom,  but  He 
■who  "removeth  and  setteth  up  kings."  And  would  that  all 
were  to  follow  my  example  in  rejecting  the  maxim  of  Homer, 
maintaining  the  divine  origin  of  the  kingdom,  and  observing 
the  precept  to  honour  the  king  !  In  these  circumstances  the 
king  will  not  "  be  left  in  utter  solitude  and  desertion,"  neither 
will  "  the  affairs  of  the  world  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  most 
impious  and  wild  barbarians."  For  if,  in  the  words  of  Celsus, 
*'  they  do  as  I  do,"  then  it  is  evident  that  even  the  barbarians, 
when  they  yield  obedience  to  the  word  of  God,  will  become 
most  obedient  to  the  law,  and  most  humane  ;  and  every  form  of 
j  worship  will  be  destroyed  except  the  religion  of  Christ,  which 
'will  alone  prevail.  And  indeed  it  will  one  day  triumph,  as  its 
principles  take  possession  of  the  minds  of  men  more  and  more 
every  day. 

Chapter  lxix. 

Celsus,  then,  as  if  not  observing  that  he  was  saying  anything 
inconsistent  with  the  words  he  had  just  used,  "  if  all  were 
to  do  the  same  as  you,"  adds  :  "  You  surely  do  not  say  that 
if  the  Romans  were,  in  compliance  with  your  wish,  to  neglect 
their  customary  duties  to  gods  and  men,  and  w^ere  to  worship 
the  Most  High,  or  whatever  you  please  to  call  him,  that  he 
will  come  down  and  fight  for  them,  so  that  they  shall  need  no 
other  help  than  his.  For  this  same  God,  as  yourselves  say, 
pi'omised  of  old  this  and  much  more  to  those  who  served  him, 
and  see  in  what  way  he  has  helped  them  and  you  !  They,  in 
place  of  being  masters  of  the  whole  world,  are  left  with  not  so 
much  as  a  patch  of  ground  or  a  home ;  and  as  for  you,  if  any  of 
you  transgresses  even  in  secret,  he  is  sought  out  and  punished 
with  death."  As  the  question  started  is,  "  What  would  happen 
if  the  Romans  were  persuaded  to  adopt  the  principles  of  the 
Christians,  to  despise  the  duties  paid  to  the  recognised  gods  and 
to  men,  and  to  worship  the  Most  High  I ''  this  is  my  answer  to 
the  question.  We  say  that  "  if  two"  of  us  "  shall  agree  on  earth 
as  touching  anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for 


Booicvni.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  553 

them  of  the  Father"  of  the  just,  "which  is  in  heaven;"'^  for 
God  rejoices  in  tlie  agreement  of  rational  beings,  and  turns 
away  from  discord.  And  what  are  avc  to  expect,  if  not  only  a 
very  few  agree,  as  at  present,  but  the  whole  of  the  empire  of 
Rome  ?  For  they  will  pray  to  the  Word,  who  of  old  said  to 
the  Hebrews,  when  they  were  pursued  by  the  Egyptians,  "  The 
Lord  shall  fight  for  you,  and  ye  shall  hold  your  peace  ;"  "  and 
if  they  all  unite  in  prayer  with  one  accord,  they  will  be  able  to 
put  to  flight  far  more  enemies  than  those  who  were  discomfited 
by  the  prayer  of  Moses  when  he  cried  to  the  Lord,  and  of  those 
who  prayed  with  him.  Now,  if  what  God  promised  to  those 
who  keep  His  law  has  not  come  to  pass,  the  reason  of  its  non- 
fulfilment  is  not  to  be  ascribed  to  the  unfaithfulness  of  God. 
But  He  had  made  the  fulfilment  of  His  promises  to  depend  on 
certain  conditions, — namely,  that  they  should  observe  and  live 
according  to  His  law ;  and  if  the  Jews  have  not  a  plot  of 
ground  nor  a  habitation  left  to  them,  although  they  had  received 
these  conditional  promises,  the  entire  blame  is  to  be  laid  upon 
their  crimes,  and  especially  upon  their  guilt  in  the  treatment  of 
Jesus. 

Chapter  lxx. 

But  if  all  the  Romans,  according  to  the  supposition  of  Celsus, 
embrace  the  Christian  faith,  they  will,  when  they  pray,  overcome 
their  enemies  ;  or  rather,  they  will  not  war  at  all,  being  guarded 
by  that  divine  power  which  promised  to  save  five  entire  cities  for 
the  sake  of  fifty  just  persons.  For  men  of  God  are  assm'edly 
the  salt  of  the  earth  :  they  preserve  the  order  of  the  world  ;  and 
society  is  held  together  as  long  as  the  salt  is  vmcorrupted :  for 
"  if  the  salt  have  lost  its  savour,  it  is  neither  fit  for  the  land 
nor  for  the  dunghill ;  but  it  shall  be  cast  out,  and  trodden  under 
foot  of  men.  He  that  hath  ears,  let  him  hear""  the  meaning 
of  these  words.  When  God  gives  to  the  tempter  permission  to 
persecute  us,  then  we  suffer  persecution ;  and  when  God  wishes 
us  to  be  free  from  suffering,  even  in  the  midst  of  a  world  that 
liates  us,  we  enjoy  a  wonderful  peace,  trusting  in  the  protection 
of  Him  who  said,  "  Be  of  good  cheer,  I  have  overcome  the 

1  Matt,  xviii.  19.  2  e^.  xiv.  14. 

3  Luke  siv.  34,  35  ;  Matt,  v.  13. 


554  OBIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viii. 

world."  ^  And  truly  He  has  overcome  the  world.  Wherefore 
the  world  prevails  only  so  long  as  it  is  the  pleasure  of  Him 
who  received  from  the  Father  power  to  overcome  the  world ; 
and  from  His  victory  we  take  courage.  Should  He  even  wish 
us  again  to  contend  and  struggle  for  our  religion,  let  the  enemy 
come  against  us,  and  we  will  say  to  them,  "  I  can  do  all  things, 
through  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  which  strengtheneth  me."  ^ 
For  of  "  two  sparrows  which  are  sold  for  a  farthing,"  as  the 
Scripture  says,  "  not  one  of  them  falls  on  the  ground  without 
our  Father  in  heaven."  ^  And  so  completely  does  the  divine 
providence  embrace  all  things,  that  not  even  the  hairs  of  our 
head  fail  to  be  numbered  by  Him. 

Chapter  lxxi. 

Celsus  again,  as  is  usual  with  him,  gets  confused,  and  attri- 
butes to  us  things  which  none  of  us  have  ever  written.  His 
words  are  :  ''  Surely  it  is  intolerable  for  you  to  say,  that  if  our 
present  rulers,  on  embracing  your  opinions,  are  taken  by  the 
enemy,  you  will  still  be  able  to  persuade  those  who  rule  after 
them  ;  and  after  these  have  been  taken  you  will  persuade  their 
successors,  and  so  on,  until  at  length,  when  all  who  have  yielded 
to  your  persuasion  have  been  taken,  some  prudent  ruler  shall 
arise,  with  a  foresight  of  what  is  impending,  and  he  will  destroy 
you  all  utterly  before  he  himself  perishes."  There  is  no  need 
of  any  answer  to  these  allegations  :  for  none  of  us  says  of  our 
present  rulers,  that  if  they  embrace  our  opinions,  and  are  taken 
bv  the  enemy,  we  shall  be  able  to  persuade  their  successors ; 
and  when  these  are  taken,  those  who  come  after  them,  and  so 
on  in  succession.  But  on  what  does  he  ground  the  assertion, 
that  when  a  succession  of  those  who  have  yielded  to  our  per- 
suasion have  been  taken  because  they  did  not  drive  back  the 
enemy,  some  prudent  ruler  shall  arise,  with  a  foresight  of  what 
is  impending,  who  shall  utterly  destroy  us?  But  here  he  seems 
to  me  to  delight  in  inventing  and  uttering  the  wildest  nonsense. 

Chapter  lxxii. 

Afterwards  he  says :  "  If  it  were  possible,"  implying  at  the 
same  time  that  he  thought  it  most  desirable,  "  that  all  the  inha- 
1  John  xvi.  33.  ^  piiji.  iv.  13.  3  Matt.  x.  29,  30. 


Booicvin.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  555 

bitants  of  Asia,  Europe,  and  Libya,  Greeks  and  barbarians,  all 
to  the  uttermost  ends  of  the  earth,  were  to  come  under  one 
law;"  but  judging  this  quite  impossible,  he  adds,  "  Any  one 
iwho  thinks  this  possible,  knows  nothing."  It  would  require 
jcareful  consideration  and  lengthened  argument  to  prove  that  it 
/is  not  only  possible,  but  that  it  will  surely  come  to  pass,  that  all 
who  are  endowed  with  reason  shall  come  under  one  law.  How- 
ever, if  we  must  refer  to  this  subject,  it  will  be  with  great 
brevity.  The  Stoics,  indeed,  hold  that,  when  the  strongest  of 
the  elements  prevails,  all  things  shall  be  turned  into  fire.  But 
our  belief  is,  that  the  Word  shall  prevail  over  the  entire  rational 
creation,  and  change  every  soul  into  His  own  perfection ;  in 
which  state  every  one,  by  the  mere  exercise  of  his  power,  will 
choose  what  he  desires,  and  obtain  what  he  chooses.  For 
althouirh,  in  the  diseases  and  wounds  of  the  bodv,  there  are  some 
which  no  medical  skill  can  cure,  yet  we  hold  that  in  the  mind 
there  is  no  evil  so  strong  that  it  may  not  be  overcome  by  the 
Supreme  "Word  and  God.  For  stronger  than  all  the  evils  in 
the  soul  is  the  Word,  and  the  healing  power  that  dwells  in  Him; 
and  this  healing  He  applies,  according  to  the  will  of  God,  to 
.every  man.  The  consummation  of  all  things  is  the  destruction 
\oi  evil,  although  as  to  the  question  whether  it  shall  be  so  de- 
istroyed  that  it  can  never  anywhere  arise  again,  it  is  beyond  our 
present  purpose  to  say.  Many  things  are  said  obscurely  in  the 
prophecies  on  the  total  destruction  of  evil,  and  the  restoration 
to  righteousness  of  every  soul ;  but  it  will  be  enough  for  our 
present  purpose  to  quote  the  following  passage  from  Zephaniah: 
*'  Prepare  and  rise  early ;  all  the  gleanings  of  their  vineyards 
are  destroyed.  Therefore  wait  ye  upon  me,  saith  the  Lord,  on 
the  day  that  I  rise  up  for  a  testimony ;  for  my  determination  is 
to  gather  the  nations,  that  I  may  assemble  the  kings,  to  pour 
upon  them  mine  indignation,  even  all  my  fierce  anger :  for  all 
the  earth  shall  be  devoured  with  the  fire  of  my  jealousy.  For 
then  will  I  turn  to  the  people  a  pure  language,  that  they  may 
all  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord,  to  serve  Him  with  one  con- 
sent. From  beyond  the  rivers  of  Ethiopia  my  suppliants,  even 
the  daughter  of  my  dispersed,  shall  bring  my  offering.  In  that 
day  shalt  thou  not  be  ashamed  for  all  thy  doings,  wherein  thou 
hast  transgressed  against  me  :  for  then  I  will  take  away  out  of 


556  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  viii. 

the  midst  of  thee  them  that  rejoice  in  thy  pride ;  and  thou  shalt 
no  more  be  haughty  because  of  my  holy  mountain.  I  will  also 
leave  in  the  midst  of  thee  an  afflicted  and  poor  people,  and  they 
shall  trust  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  The  remnant  of  Israel 
shall  not  do  iniquity,  nor  speak  lies ;  neither  shall  a  deceitful 
tonoue  be  found  in  their  mouth:  for  they  shall  feed  and  lie 
down,  and  none  shall  make  them  afraid."  ^  I  leave  it  to  those 
who  are  able,  after  a  careful  study  of  the  whole  subject,  to  un- 
fold the  meaning  of  this  prophecy,  and  especially  to  inquire 
into  the  signification  of  the  words,  "  When  the  whole  earth  is 
destroyed,  there  will  be  turned  upon  the  peoples  a  language 
according  to  their  race,"  ^  as  things  were  before  the  confusion 
of  tongues.  Let  them  also  carefully  consider  the  promise, 
that  all  shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  serve 
Him  with  one  consent ;  also  that  all  contemptuous  reproach 
shall  be  taken  away,  and  there  shall  be  no  longer  any  injus- 
tice, or  vain  speech,  or  a  deceitful  tongue.  And  thus  much  it 
seemed  needful  for  me  to  say  briefly,  and  without  entering 
into  elaborate  details,  in  answer  to  the  remark  of  Celsus,  that 
he  considered  any  ogreement  between  the  inhabitants  of  Asia, 
Europe,  and  Libya,  as  well  Greeks  as  barbarians,  was  impos- 
sible. And  perhaps  such  a  result  would  indeed  be  impossible 
to  those  who  are  still  in  the  body,  but  not  to  those  who  are 
released  from  it. 

Chapter  lxxiii. 

In  the  next  place,  Celsus  urges  us  "  to  help  the  king  with 
all  our  might,  and  to  labour  with  him  in  the  maintenance  of 
justice,  to  fight  for  him ;  and  if  he  requires  it,  to  fight  under 
him,  or  lead  an  army  along  with  him."  To  this  our  answer  is, 
that  we  do,  when  occasion  requires,  give  help  to  kings,  and 
that,  so  to  say,  a  divine  help,  "  putting  on  the  whole  armour  of 

I  God."^  And  this  we  do  in  obedience  to  the  injunction  of  the 
apostle,   "  I  exhort,  therefore,  that  first  of  all,  supplications, 

j  prayers,  intercessions,  and  giving  of  thanks,  be  made  for  all 
men,  for  kings,  and  for  all  that  are  in  authority ; "  *  and  the 

1  Zeph.  iii.  7-13. 

2  "  A  language  to  last  as  long  as  the  world." — Bouhereau. 

3  Eph.  vi.  11.  ■'I  Tim.  ii.  1,  2. 


Book  VIII.]  OPJGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  667 

\  more  any  one  excels  in  piety,  the  more  effective  help  does  he 
I  render  to  kings,  even  more  than  is  given  by  soldiers,  who  go 
'■  forth  to  fight  and  slay  as  many  of  the  eneitiy  as  they  can.  And 
to  those  enemies  of  our  faith  who  require  us  to  bear  arms  for 
the  commonwealth,  and  to  slay  men,  we  can  reply :  "  Do  not 
those  who  are  priests  at  certain  shrines,  and  those  who  attend 
on  certain  gods,  as  you  account  them,  keep  their  hands  free 
from  blood,  that  they  may  with  hands  unstained  and  free  from 
human  blood  offer  the  appointed  sacrifices  to  your  gods;  and 
even  when  war  is  upon  you,  you  never  enlist  the  priests  in  the 
army.  If  that,  then,  is  a  laudable  custom,  how  much  more  so, 
that  while  others  are  engaged  in  battle,  these  too  should  engage 
as  the  priests  and  ministers  of  God,  keeping  their  hands  pure, 
and  wrestling  in  prayers  to  God  on  behalf  of  those  who  are 
fio;htin(T  in  a  rifihteous  cause,  and  for  the  kins  who  reigns 
righteously,  that  wliatever  is  opposed  to  those  who  act  right- 
eously may  be  destroyed  ! "  And  as  we  by  our  prayers  van- 
quish all  demons  who  stir  up  Avar,  and  lead  to  the  violation  of 
oaths,  and  disturb  the  peace,  we  in  this  way  are  much  more 
helpful  to  the  kings  than  those  who  go  into  the  field  to  fight  for 
them.  And  we  do  take  our  part  in  public  affairs,  when  along 
with  righteous  prayers  we  join  self-denying  exercises  and  medi- 
tations, which  teach  us  to  despise  pleasures,  and  not  to  be  led 
away  by  them.  And  none  fight  better  for  the  king  than  we 
do.  We  do  not  indeed  fight  under  him,  although  he  require  it ; 
but  we  fight  on  his  behalf,  forming  a  special  army — an  army 
of  piety — by  offering  our  prayers  to  God. 

Chapter  lxxiv. 

And  if  Celsus  would  have  us  to  lead  armies  in  defence  of 
our  country,  let  him  know  that  we  do  this  too,  and  that  not  for 
the  purpose  of  being  seen  by  men,  or  of  vainglory.  For  "  in 
secret,"  and  in  our  own  hearts,  there  are  prayers  which  ascend 
as  from  priests  in  behalf  of  our  fellow-citizens.  And  Christians 
are  benefactors  of  their  country  more  than  others.  For  they 
train  up  citizens,  and  inculcate  piety  to  the  Supreme  Being ; 
and  they  promote  those  whose  lives  in  the  smallest  cities  have 
been  good  and  worthy,  to  a  divine  and  heavenly  city,  to  whom 
it  may  be  said,  "  Thou  hast  been  faithful  in  the  smallest  city, 


558  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  [Book  vm. 

come  into  a  great  one,"^  where  "  God  standeth  in  the  assembly 
of  the  gods,  and  judgeth  the  gods  in  the  midst ; "  and  He 
reckons  thee  among  them,  if  thou  no  more  "  die  as  a  man,  or 
fall  as  one  of  the  princes."  ^ 

Chapter  lxxv. 

Celsus  also  urges  us  to  "  take  office  in  the  government  of  the 
country,  if  that  is  reqviired  for  the  maintenance  of  the  laws  and 
the  support  of  religion."  But  we  recognise  in  each  state  the 
existence  of  another  national  organization,^  founded  by  the 
Word  of  God,  and  we  exhort  those  who  are  mighty  in  word 
and  of  blameless  life  to  rule  over  churches.  Those  who  are 
ambitious  of  ruling  we  reject ;  but  we  constrain  those  who, 
through  excess  of  modesty,  are  not  easily  induced  to  take  a 
public  charge  in  the  church  of  God.  And  those  who  rule  over 
us  well  are  under  the  constraining  influence  of  the  great  King, 
whom  we  believe  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  God  the  Word,  And 
if  those  who  govern  in  the  church,  and  are  called  rulers  of  the 
I  divine  nation — that  is,  the  church — rule  well,  they  rule  in 
accordance  with  the  divine  commands,  and  never  suffer  them- 
selves to  be  led  astray  by  worldly  policy.  And  it  is  not  for  the 
purpose  of  escaping  public  duties  that  Christians  decline  public 
offices,  but  that  they  may  reserve  themselves  for  a  diviner  and 
more  necessary  service  in  the  church  of  God — for  the  salvation 
of  men.  And  this  service  is  at  once  necessary  and  right.  They 
take  charge  of  all — of  those  that  are  within,  that  they  may  day 
by  day  lead  better  lives,  and  of  those  that  are  without,  that  they 
may  come  to  abound  in  holy  words  and  in  deeds  of  piety ;  and 
that,  while  thus  worshipping  God  truly,  and  training  up  as 
many  as  they  can  in  the  same  way,  they  may  be  filled  with  the 
word  of  God  and  the  law  of  God,  and  thus  be  united  with  the 
supreme  God  through  His  Son  the  Word,  wisdom,  truth,  and 
righteousness,  who  unites  to  God  all  who  are  resolved  to  con- 
form their  lives  in  all  things  to  the  law  of  God. 

Chapter  lxxvi. 

You  have  here,  reverend  Ambrosius,  the  conclusion  of  what 
we  have  been  enabled  to  accomplish  by  the  power  given  to  us 
1  Luke  xix,  17.  ^  Ps.  Ixxxii.  1,  7.  ^  avarnf^ot  "jnnrpihog. 


Book  viii.]  ORIGEN  AGAINST  CELSUS.  559 

in  obedience  to  your  command.  In  eight  books  we  have  em- 
braced all  that  we  considered  it  proper  to  say  in  reply  to  that 
book  of  Celsus  which  he  entitles  A  True  Discourse.  And  now 
it  remains  for  the  readers  of  his  discourse  and  of  my  reply  to 
judge  which  of  the  two  breathes  most  of  the  Spirit  of  the  true 
God,  of  piety  towards  Him,  and  of  that  truth  which  leads  men 
by  sound  doctrines  to  the  noblest  life.  You  must  know,  how- 
ever, that  Celsus  had  promised  another  treatise  as  a  sequel  to 
this  one,  in  which  he  engaged  to  supply  practical  rules  of  living 
to  those  who  felt  disposed  to  embrace  his  opinions.  If,  then, 
he  has  not  fulfilled  his  promise  of  writing  a  second  book,  we 
may  well  be  contented  with  these  eight  books  which  we  have 
written  in  answer  to  his  discourse.  But  if  he  has  begun  and 
finished  that  second  book,  pray  obtain  it  and  send  it  to  us,  that 
we  may  answer  it  as  the  Father  of  truth  may  give  us  ability, 
and  either  overthrow  the  false  teaching  that  may  be  in  it,  or 
laying  aside  all  jealousy,  we  may  testify  our  approval  of  what- 
ever truth  it  may  contain. 

Glory  be  to  Thee,  our  God  ;  Glory  be  to  Thee. 


INDEXES. 


I.— INDEX  OP  PASSAGES  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


OLD  TESTAMENT. 


Genesis. 


i.  1, 

i.  2, 

i.  11, 

i.  24, 

i.  26, 

i.  27, 
i.  27,  28 
ii.  2,  3, 
ji.  4, 
ii.  7, 

ii.  21,  22, 
ii.  24, 
iii., 
iii.  5, 
iii.  6, 
iii.  7, 
iii.  8, 
iii.  17, 
iii.  19, 
iii.  24, 
iv.  8, 
iv.  10, 
V.  1, 
V.  3, 
vi.  3, 
vi.  5,  6, 
ix.  10,  11 
xi.  1,  2, 
xi.  4, 
xi.  5-7, 
XV.  5, 
xvii.  14, 
xix.  17, 
xxi.  2, 
xxvi.  15, 
xxvii.  12 
xxvii.  27, 
XXX.  42, 
XXX.  43, 
xlviii.  22, 

OEIG." 


109 


VOL.  PAGE 

i.  127,  271 

i.  349 

ii.  519 

i.  110 

i.  2G2,  ii.  190, 

391 

ii.  190 

i.  263 

ii.  403 

ii.  403 

39,  ii.  200 

ii.  201 

ii.  216,  389 

222,  ii.  383 

ii.  461 

ii.  461 

ii.  461 

ii.  406 

ii.  451 

i.  269 

ii.  391 

ii.  208 

i.  251 

ii.  390 

i.  23,  119 

39,  ii.  460 

ii.  400 

ii.    70 

ii.  297 

ii.  161 

ii.  298 

ii.  277 

i.  318 

ii.  211 

ii.  208 

ii.  210 

ii.  359 

i.  449 

ii.  209 

ii.  209 

i.  323 

•VOL.  II. 


13. 


xlix.  1, 
xlix. , 


VOL.  PAGE 

i.  253 

i.  456 


Exodus. 


ui.  2,      . 
iii.  6, 
iii.  8,      . 
iii.  14,    , 
iv.  21,    . 
iv.  23,    . 
iv.  24,  25, 
iv.  24-26, 
iv.  25,  26, 
vii.  3,     . 
viii.  28,  29, 
ix.  12,    . 
ix.  17,    . 
xii.  8,     . 
xii.  23,  .      i. 
xvi.  29,  . 
xviii.  4, 
xix.  19, . 
XX.  3,  4, 
XX.  12,   .       i 
XX.  13,   . 
XX.  IS,   . 
XX.  21,   . 
xxi.  2,    . 
xxi.  24,  . 
xxii.  28, 
xxiii.  20, 
xxiv.  2,  . 
XXV.  5,  . 
XXV.  40, 
XXX.  34,  35, 
xxxii. ,    . 
xxxii.  4, 
xxxii.  21, 
xxxiv.  2, 
XXXV.  2, 
XXXV.  40, 


i.  122 
i.  92 

ii.  451 
i.  38 
i.  169 
i.  175 

ii.  318 
i.  222 

ii.  319 
i.  169 
i.  179 
i.  175 
i.  175 

ii.  510 

223,  ii.  383 

i.  319 

ii.  318 
i.  216 

ii.  485 

94,  324  his 

i.  324 

ii.  404 

ii.  355 

ii.  318 

ii.  448 

ii.  523 
i.  96 
ii.  263,  356 
i.  293 
i.  272 

ii.  273 
i.  281 

ii.  77 
i.  281 

ii.  59 
i.  387 
i.  306 


Leviticus. 
xi.  44,    .        .        ii.  406 


XVI. 

xvi. 
xvi. 
xvii 
xvii 
xix. 
xix. 
xxvi 


8,  . 

18,. 

29.  . 

10, 

26,. 
31,. 
.5,. 


VOL.  PAGE 

ii.  383 
i.  223 
ii.  510 
i.  119 
i.  118,  246 
ii.  262 
i.  424,  ii.  276 
ii.  447 


Numbers. 
XV.  32,  .         .  i.  387 

xxiii.  23,         .         ii.  262 
xxiv.  17,         .  i.  463,  464 

Deuteronomy. 


i.  10, 

ii.  34,     . 
iii.  1-3,  . 
iii.  8,      . 
iv.  16-18, 
iv.  19,    . 
iv.  19,  20, 
iv.  24, 
vi.  13, 
viii.  3,    . 
ix.  3,      . 
X.  12,  13, 
xiii.  4,    . 
xvi.  3,    . 
xviii.  14, 

xviii.  15, 
xxiv.  16, 
XXV.  4,  . 


xxvui.,  . 
xxviii.  12, 
xxviii.  66, 
xxxii.  8, 
xxxii.  8,  9, 
xxxii.  9, 
xxxii.  21, 
xxxii.  23,  24, 


ii.  277 
ii.  443 
ii.    56 
ii.  406 
ii.  193 
ii.  19,3,  274 
ii.  277 
i.  8,  122,  ii.  173 
ii.  279,  485 
i.  US 
ii.  173 
ii.    40 
ii.  456 
ii.  510 
i.  436  hk,  ii. 
262 
i.  436,  ii.  262 
ii.  524 
i.  94,  304,  ii. 
216 
i.  142,  304 
ii.  444 
ii.    79 
i.    46 
ii.  169,  297 
i.    46 
ii.  8.3,  151 
i.  434 


xxxii.  30, 


ii.  444 


2  N 


562 


INDEX  OF  TEXTS. 


xxxii.  39, 
xxxiv.  5,  6, 


VOL.  PAGE 

ii.    31 

ii.    57 


Joshua. 

xxiv.  32,        .  i.  323 

1  Samuel. 

ix.  10,    .        .  i.  436 

XV.  11,  .         .  i.  293 

xvi.  15,  .        .  '■   293 

xviii.  10,         .  i.  293 

2  Samuel. 

xxii.  44,  45,    .  ii.    83 


iii.  16,  . 
iv.  29-34, 
X.  1-9,  . 
xii.  14,  . 
xiv.  12,  . 
xvii.  21,  22, 
xix.  18, 
xxii.  19-23, 


1  Kings. 

i.  382,  383 
ii.  127 


ii.  126 
i.  389 
i.  436 

ii.  61 
i.  308 
i.  223 


2  Kings. 

i.  3,        .        .  i.  436 

iv.  34,  35,       .  ii.    61 

ix.  11,    .         .  ii.  434 

1  Chronicles. 

xvi.  8,    .        .  i.  387 

xvi.  22,  .         .  ii.  422 

Job. 

i.  and  ii. ,        .  ii.  283 

i.  10,  11,        .  i.  235 

ii.  10,     .        .  ii.  396 

vii.  1,     .         .  i.  236 

viii.  12, .         .  i.  113 

X.  8,       .         .  ii.  200 

XV.  14,  .  i.  347,  ii.  143 

XXV.  5,  .         .  i.    61 

xl.,         .         .  i.  284 
xl.  20,    .        i.  53,  ii.  384 

xli.,        .         .  i.  284 

xU.  34,  .         .  i.  123 


VOL.  PACK 

ix.  13,  14,  .  ii.  375 
xiii.  o,  .  .  ii.  456 
xiv.  3,  4,  .  ii.  418 
xvi.  9,  10,  .  ii.  65,  113 
xviii.  11,  .  ii.  355 
xix.  1,  .  .  ii.  404 
xix.  4,    .         .  i.  467 

xix.  8,  .  .  ii.  456 
xxii.  15,  .        ii.  473 

xxii.  20,  21,   .  i.  120 

xxiv.  S,  .        ii.  492 

xxvi.  2,  .         ii.  541 

xxvii.  1,  ,  ii.  341 
xxvii.  1-3,      .  i.  234 

xxvii.  1,  3,  .  ii.  513 
xxxiii.,  .  .  ii.  402 
xxxiii.  5,  .  ii.  188 
xxxiii.  6,  .  i.  40,  345 
xxxiv.  7,  i.  06,  ii.  380, 
520,  522 
xxxiv.  10-14, .  ii.  396 
xxxiv.  19,  .  ii.  441 
xxxvi.  9,  i.  8,  ii.  341 

xxxvii.  8,  .  ii.  238 
xxxvii.  9,  11,  22, 

29,  34, 
xxxvii.  30,  31, 
xxxvii.  34, 


Ixxviii.  34, 
Ixxviii.  49, 
Ixxviii.  65, 
Ixxx.  13,  14, 
Ixxxi.  5, 
Ixxxii.  1, 

Ixxxii.  1,  7,    . 
Ixxxiv.  3, 
Ixxxvi.  8, 
Ixxxvii.  1,  2,  . 
Ixxxix.  32,     . 
Ixxxix.  50,  51, 
xci.  13,  . 
xcvi.  4,  . 
xcvi.  5,  .        ii 


xcvii.  6, 
xcvii.  9, 
ci.  9, 
cii.  25,    . 
cii.  26,  27, 

cii.  27,    . 


xxxix.  5 
xliii.  19, 
xliv.  19, 
xliv.  23, 
xiv.  1,  2, 
xiv.  2-5, 
xiv.  6,  7, 


ii.  452 
ii.  472 
i.  90 
ii.  473 
ii.  473 
i.  126 
ii.  238 
i.  282 
i.  459 
i.  459 


i.  1, 
ii.  2, 
ii.  3, 
ii.  5,       , 
ii.  8,       , 
iv.  G, 
vi.  1, 
vii.  3-5, 
vii.  3-6, 
viii.  3, 


Psalms. 


i.  383 

i.  239 
ii.  538 

i.  97 
ii.  169 
ii.  341 
ii.  237 
ii.  447 
ii.  521 

i.    89 


xiv.  7,    .  i.  109,  111,  347 

xiv.  8,    . 

xiv.  25,  . 

xlviii.  1,  2, 

xlix.  9,  10, 

1.  1, 

Ii.  5,       . 

Ii.  10,     . 

Ii.  11,     . 

Ii.  12,     . 

Uv.  5,     . 

liv.  6,     . 

Iviii.  3,  . 

Ixu.  1,    . 

Ixiii.  S,  . 

Ixviii.  11, 

Ixix.  21, 

Ixxii.  7, 

Ixxii.  8, 

Ixxii.  11, 

Ixxiii.  1, 

Ixxvi.  2, 

Ixxvi.  10, 

Ixxvii.  2, 


i.  Ill 

ii.  473 

ii.  452 

ii.  351 

ii.  493 

ii.  472 

i.    34 

ii.  468 

ii.  455 

i.  478,  ii.  425 

ii.  425 

ii.  472 

i.  283 

ii.  456 

i.  467 

.  ii.  41,  436 

i.  283 

i.  283 

i.  115 

i.  104 

ii.  452 

i.  230 

.    IL  8,  456 


VOL.  PAGB 

i.  102 

ii.  517 

ii.  238 

i.  166 

ii.    91 

ii.  189  his, 

493 

ii.  558 

i.  230 

ii.  271 

ii.  216 

ii.  398 

ii.  112 

ii.  490 

ii.  271 

u.  189,  489, 

493 

i.  124 

ii.  493 

ii.  442 

ii.  404 

i.  254,  271, 

ii.  223 

i  419,  ii.  174, 

405 


cii.  46,   . 
civ.  4,    . 
civ.  6,    . 
civ.  14,  15, 
civ.  15,  . 
civ.  24,  . 
civ.  24-26, 
civ.  29,  30, 
cv.  15,   . 
cvi.  20, 
cvii.  20, 


i.    58 

i.  122 

ii.  356 

ii.  241 

u.  551 

.  29,  130 

ii.  263 

i.    39 

ii.  422 

ii.    36 

i.  470,  ii.  143, 

279 


cix. , 

cix.  1,  2, 
cix.  8,    . 
ex.  1, 
cxv.  13, 
cxvi. , 
cxviii.  2, 
cxviii.  19,  20, 


ii.  27 
ii.  16 
ii.  16 
i.  154 
i.  383 
ii.  539 
i.  104 
ii.  375 


cxix.  18,  .  ii.  8,  216,  456 


cxix.  73, 
cxix.  105, 
cxxvi.,  . 
cxxxi.  1,  2, 
cxxxvi.  2, 
cxxxvii.  8,  9, 
cxxxix., 
cxli. , 
cxlvii.  15, 
cxlviii.  3, 
cxlviii.  4, 
cxlviii.  4,  5, 
cxlviii.  5, 


ii.  200 

ii.  341 

i.  205 

ii.  353 

ii.  271,  493 

ii.  445 

i.  351 

ii.  140,  505 

i.  467 

ii.  281,  549 

ii.  358 

ii.  315 

i  77 


INDEX  OF  TEXTS. 


563 


VOL.  PACE 

VOL.  PACE 

VOL.  TACE 

PEOVEftES. 

ix.  G,     . 

ii. 

323,  513 

xxv.  28,  29,  . 

i.  143 

ii,  5,       .       i. 

17,  355,  ii. 

X.  17,    . 

i. 

143,  349 

xxix.  22, 

i.  376 

448,  457 

xi.  0,  7, 

i.  292 

xxxL  10, 

ii.  526 

iv.  23,    . 

i.  232 

xiv.  4,    . 

ii.  384 

xxxiv.  14, 

ii.  313 

V.  15-17, 

ii.  210 

xiv.  12-22, 

L    52 

viii.  5,    . 

ii.  134 

xxv.  8,  . 

i.    80 

LAMENTATION.S. 

viii.  22-15,     . 
ix.  1-5,  . 
ix.  4,      . 
is.  5,  6, 
X.  17,     . 
X.  19,     . 

i.     18 
i.  147 
ii.  134 
ii  134 
ii.  343 
iL  268 

xxvii.  1, 
xxviii.  19, 
XXXV.  5,  6, 

xli.  22,  23, 
xlii.  4,    . 
xlii.  5,    . 

i. 

123,  224 
ii.  530 
ii.    49 
i.  340 
i.  456 
i.     35 

iii.  25,    . 
iii.  27,  29,  30, 
iii.  34,    . 
iii.  38,    . 
iv.  20,    . 

L  104 
ii.  448 
ii.  538 
ii.  232 
L  112,  339 

xiii.  8,    . 

ii.  144 

xliv.  11-14, 

ii.  507 

xiii.  25, 

ii  447 

xlv.  3,    . 

i.  335 

EZEKIEL. 

xxii.  20,  21, 

i.  300 

xiv.  6,    . 

i.    92 

L, 

1.  357 

xxii.  28, 

ii.  374 

xlv.  7,    .    i.  293.  iL  396, 

L  1,        . 

i.  443 

xxiii.  5, 

ii.  384 

398 

i.  19,  20, 

i.  169 

xxvii.  19, 

ii.  386 

xlv.  12, 

L    61 

i.  28,      . 

i.  443 

xxviii.  6, 

ii.  446 

xlvii.  14,  15, 

i.  102, 

ii.  1, 

i.  443 

XXX.  24-28, 

ii.  253 

143, 

ii. 

283,  398 

ii.  6,       . 

ii.    80 

xhaii.  9, 

ii.  283 

ii.  9,  10, 

ii.  342 

ECCLESL 

^STES. 

xlWii.  16, 

i.  456 

iii.  2,  3, 

i.  449 

i.  1-14,  . 

i.    64 

xlix.  8,  9, 

i.  456 

X., 

ii.  357 

i.  2,        . 

ii.  472 

xlix.  9,  .      i. 

456,  ii.  538 

xi.  19,  20, 

L  191 

i.  6, 

ii.  374 

xlix.  12, 

ii.  257 

xvi.  55, 

i.  102 

i.  9,        .      i. 

255,  ii.  172 

Iii.  3,  15, 

i.  457 

xviii.  2-4, 

ii.  525 

X.4,       . 

i.  223,  230 

Iii.  12,    . 

ii.  539 

xviii.  3, 

ii.    99 

Son 
i.3,       . 

i.    11 

liii.  1-3, 

ii.  418 

xviii.  4, 

i.  123 

liii.  1-8, 
liii.  2,  3, 

i.  457 
ii.  439 

xviii.  4,  19, 
xviii.  20, 

L  123 
ii.  524 

ISAI.4 

H. 

liii.  7,     . 

ii.    62 

XX.  3,     . 

ii.  127 

i.  4,        . 

ii.    79 

liii.  9,     . 

L  110 

XX.  5,     . 

ii.  525 

i.  7.        . 

ii.    SO 

liv.  12,  11, 

ii.  452 

XX.  25,   . 

ii.  443 

i.  11,      . 

i.  140 

Ix.  1,      . 

iL  341 

xxii.  18,  20, 

ii.  283 

i.  13,  14, 

i.  119 

Ix.  19.    . 

ii.  393 

xxvL,     . 

i.  239 

i.  19,  20,      i. 

165,  ii.  399 

Ixiii.  17,  18, 

i.  182 

xxviii.  11-19, 

i.    50 

i.  20,      . 

ii.  404 

Ixiv.  8,  . 

i.  267 

xxviii.  12, 

i.  224 

ii.  2,      . 

i.  386 

Ixv.  1,    . 

ii.    83 

xx\'iii.  15, 

ii.  385 

iii.  24,   . 

L    86 

IxvL  1,  . 

L  74,  92 

xxviii.  19, 

ii.  385 

iv.  4, 

i.  143 

Ixvi.  2, 

i.    89 

xxix.  3, 

ii.  217  his 

V.  8, 

iL    79 

Ixvi.  16, 

i.  143 

xxxii.  1-28, 

ii.  384 

v.  11,     . 

ii.    79 

Ixvi.  22, 

i.  255 

xxxii.  2, 

i.  123 

V.  12,     . 

ii.  453 

xxxii.  6, 

ii.  217 

V.  18,     . 

ii.    79 

Jerem 

lA] 

3. 

xliii.-xlvL, 

i.  387 

V.  20,     . 

ii.  79,  410 

i.  5,  6,  . 

i.  242 

xlviii.,    . 

ii.  361 

V.  22,     . 

ii.    79 

i.  9, 

i.  122 

vi.  1,  2, 

i.  443 

i.  9,  10, 

iL  161 

Daxi 

EL. 

vi.  2,      . 

iL  357 

i.  14,      . 

i.  123 

ii.  21,     . 

ii.  551 

vi.  3,      . 

.  i.  25,  340 

vii.  17,  18, 

ii.  275 

iv.  S,      . 

i.    34 

vi.  9,      . 

ii.    10 

vii.  18,  . 

i.    62 

iv.  37,    . 

ii.  453 

vii.  10-14, 

i.  434 

X.  24,     . 

ii.  237 

vii.  10,  . 

ii.  173,  519 

vii.  11,  . 

i.  435 

xiii.  24, 

iL  172 

vii.  26,  . 

ii.    52 

vii.  14,  . 

i.  435 

XV.  14, 

i.  293 

viii.  23, 

ii.  385 

vii.  15,  . 

i.  292 

xvii.  21-24, 

i.  387 

viii.  23-25, 

ii.  388 

vii.  16,  . 

L  110 

XX.  7, 

i. 

182,  397 

ix.  24,    . 

i.  284 

viii.  4,    . 

L  110 

xxiii.  23, 

ii.  2S0 

ix.  27,    . 

ii.  388 

viii.  8,  9, 

i.  283 

xxiii.  24,      i. 

"74,  ii.  166, 

X., 

L  239 

is.  2,     .  ii.  3 

41  bis,  409, 

280 

xii.  1,  2,  3,     . 

ii.  277 

538 

xxv.  15,  16, 

i.  143 

xii.  3,     . 

iL  191 

564 


INDEX  OF  TEXTS. 


VOL.  PAGE 
HOSEA. 

iii.  4,      .  .  i.  279 

viii.  12,  .  ii.  340 

X.  9,       .  .  ii.  127 

X.  12,     .  .  i.      7 

xiii.  14,  i.  SO,  ii.  127 

xiv.  9,    .  .  ii.  217 

Joel. 
ii.  28,     .        .  .  150 

Amos. 
iii.  G,     .         .  i.  29.3 

ix.  3,      .         .  i.  123 

MiCAH, 

i.  12,      .  i.  293,  ii.  398 

i.  12,  13,  .         ii.  396 

iv.  1,      .  .          i.  387 

V.  2,       .  i.  284,  453 

vi.  8,      .  .          i.  165 

Habakkuk. 
iii.  2,      .         .         i.    36 

Zephaniau. 
iii.  7-13,         .         ii.  556 

Haggai. 
ii.  6,       .        .         ii.  453 

Zechaeiaii. 
i.  14,      .        .         i.  230 
iii.  1,      .         .  i.  224 

V.  7,       .         .        ii.  363 
ix.  10,    .         .  i.  292 

Malachi. 
iii.  2,     .  ii.  173,  283 

iii.  2,  3,  .         ii.  364 

iii.  3,      .         .  i.  143 

iii.  6,      .    i.  419,  ii.  174, 
405 

APOCRYPHA. 

TOEIT. 

i.  12,  .  .    i.  384 

i.  19,  .  .    i.  385 

i.  22,  .  .    i.  385 

ii.  3,  .  .    i.  370 

xii.  7,  .  ii.  287,  298 

Wisdom. 
i.  4,  .  ii.  140,  298 
i.  5,  .  .  ii.  432 
i.  7,  .  .  ii.  166 
vii.  16,  .  .  i.  191 
vii.  25,  .  .  i.  22 
vii.  25,  2G,  .  i.  26,  ii. 
150,  502 
ix.  0,   .    .    ii.  350 


X.  5, 
X.  19, 
xi.  17, 
xi.  20, 
xi.  26, 
xii.  1, 
xii.  1,  2, 
xvii.  1,  . 
xviii.  24, 


VOL.  PAGE 

ii.  298 

ii.  534 

i.  349 

i.  127 

ii.  188 

ii.  201 

ii.  188,  473 

ii.  518 

i.  86 


ECCLESIASTICUS. 

vi.  4,      .         .  i.  123 

X.  4,  .  .  ii.  551 
xvi.  21,  .  i.  341 

xviii.  13,  .  ii.  188 
xxi.  18,  .  ii.  344,  435 
xxxbc.  21,  16,  17,  ii. 

242 
xliii.  20,  .  i.  123 

Susannah. 
Ver.  52,  53,    .  i.  376 

Ver.  56,         .         i.  377 

Song  op  the  Three 
Holy  Children,  i.  372 

2  Maccabees. 
vii.  28,  .         .  i.    77 

NEW  TESTAMENT. 


M. 

.  20, 

.  23, 

i.  6, 

i.  13, 

ii.  17, 

V.  9,  10 

v.  10, 

V.  12, 

V.  16, 

V.  19, 
V.  3, 
V.  5, 
V.  6, 
V.  8, 

V.  13, 
V.  14, 
V.  16, 
V.  22, 
V.  28, 
V.  34, 
V.  34,  .35, 
V.  39,   . 
V.  39,  40, 
V.  44,  45, 
V.  45,  . 


VTTHEW. 

i.  472 

i.  434 

i.  284,  453 

i.  472 

ii.  76 

ii.  541 

ii.  485 

i.  170 

i.  170 

i.  466 

ii.  409 

i.  90 

i.  146 

i.  17,  ii.  340, 

455,  466 

ii.  553 

ii.  278,  474 

ii.  278 

.  i.  166,  325 

i.  325 

i.  74 

i.  92 

i.  166,  ii.  448 

ii.  482 

ii.  521 

ii.  188 


VOL.  PAGE 

V.  48,  .  i.  355,  ii.  190 
V.  48,  49,  .  i.  91 
vi.  9,  .  .  i.  92 
vi.  24,  .  .  ii.  493 
vi.  25-28,  .  ii.  447 
vii.  7,  .  .  i.  390 
vii.  14,  .  .  ii.  354 
\-ii.  18,  .  .  i.  103 
vii.  22,  .  .  i.  402 
vii.  22,  23,  i.  278,  ii.  51 
vii.  24,  .  .  i.  166 
vii.  26,  .  .  i.  167 
\'iii.  3,  .  .  i.  449 
ix.  12,  .  .  ii.  141 
ix.  23,  .  .  ii.  446 
ix.  37,  38,  .  i.  468 
X.  3,  .  .  i.  466 
X.  IS,  i.  27S,  ii.  18,  19 
X.  23,  .  .  i.  471 
X.  29,  .  .  i.  236 
X.  29,  30,  .  ii.  554 
xi.  20,  .  .  ii.  253 
xi.  27,  .  i.  16,  96,  106, 
ii.  466 
ii.  77,  143 
ii.  8 
ii.  13 
i.  34 
i.  103 
i.  104 
i.  237,  238 
i.  334 
ii.  456 
ii.  354 
ii.  515 
ii.  455 
i.  329 
i.  450 
i.  329,  ii.  380, 
520,  522 
ii.  553 
ii.  12 
i.  254 
i.  104,  ii.  279 
ii.  354 
ii.  446 
ii.  191 
xxi.  2,  .  .  ii.  208 
xxii.  12,  13,  .  i.  100 
xxii.  30,  i.  345,  ii.  189 
xxii.  32,  i.  92,  ii.  494 
xxii.  37,  39,  40,   i.  93 


xi.  28, 
xi.  29, 
xii.  24, 
xii.  32, 
xii.  33, 
xii.  35, 
xii.  42, 
xii.  44, 
xiii.  9, 
xiii.  54 
XV.  11,  17-19, 
XV.  19,   . 
XV.  24,   . 
xvii.  9,   . 
xviii.  10, 

xviii.  19, 
xviii.  20, 
xix.  14,  . 
xix.  17,  . 
xix.  24, . 
XX.  25,  . 
XX.  28,  . 


xxiii.  12, 
xxiii.  29-36, 
xxiii.  30, 
xxiii.  34, 
xxiv.  4, . 
xxiv.  12, 
xxiv.  14, 


ii.  142 
i.  378 
i.  397 
ii.  127 
ii.  385 
i.  122 
78.  ii.  20 


INDEX  OF  TEXTS. 


oGj 


VOL.  PACE 

xxiv.  21,  .  i.  250 

xxiv.  23-27,    .         ii.    51 


xxiv.  27, 
xxiv.  35, 
XXV.  4,  . 
XXV.  29, 
XXV.  34, 
XXV.  35, 
xxvi.  3,  . 
xxvi.  23, 
xxvi.  29, 
xxvi.  38, 


xxvi.  30, 
xxvi.  4S, 
xxvi.  52-54, 
xxvi.  55, 
xxvi.  59-61, 
xx\a.  61, 
xxvii.  3-5, 
xxvii.  11-14, 
xxvii.  17, 
xxvii.  IS, 
xxvii.  19, 
xxvii.  46-50, 
xxvii.  51,  52, 
xxvii.  54, 
xxvni.  60, 
xxvii.  63, 
xxviii.  1,  2, 
xxviii.  9, 
xxviii.  20, 


i.    52 

i.  254,  ii.  291 

ii.  341 

i.  149 

i.  167 

i.  169 

i.  105 

ii.    2S 

i.  146 

i.  125,  346, 

ii.  11 

ii.  30,  31,  477 

ii.    67 


Maek. 


i.  12, 
iii.  IS, 
iv.  12, 
vi.  2, 
vi.  3, 
X.  8, 
X.  18, 
X.  44, 
xiii.  31, 

i.  35, 
V.  8, 
vi.  36, 
vi.  4, 
viii.  10, 
X.  4, 
x.  IS. 


Luke. 


ii.  14 
ii.  67 
i.  394 
ii.  13 
ii.  15 
ii.  394 
i.  394 
i.  394 
ii.  39 
ii.  113 
ii.  38 
ii.  41 
ii.  72 
i.  235 
ii.  74 
ii.  74 
ii.  12,  280 

ii.  6 
i.  466 
i.  194 
ii.  354 
ii.  375 
i.  109 
ii.  279 
ii.  446 
ii.  291 

34,  113 
i.  468 
i.  355 
i.  25 
i.  170 
i.  320 
i.    52 


X.  19,  i.  284,  ii.  479,  490 

X.  22,      .  i.  36,  ii.  75 

xi.  9,       .  .  i.    39 

xi.  48,    .  .  ii.    79 

xi.  52,    .  .  i.  299 

xii.  10,   .  .  i.    34 

xii.  45,  46,  .  i.  376 

xiii.  11,  16,  .  ii.  53S 


xiii.  20,  27, 
xiv.  11,  . 
xiv.  34,  3."), 
xvii.  20,  21, 
xviii.  11, 
x\aii.  13, 
xnii.  14, 
xix.  14,  . 
xix.  17,  . 
xix.  17,  19, 
xix.  26,  . 
XX.  36,   .      ] 
xxii.  25, 
xxii.  27, 
xxiii.  21 
xxiii.  44,  45, 
xxiii.  53, 
xxiv.  15,  31, 
xxiv.  30,  31, 


o, 


vor,.  p.voK 
ii.  51 

i.  185 
ii.  553 

i.  38 
ii.  144 
ii.  144 
ii.  144 

i.  97 
ii.  558 

i.  147 

i.  149 
345,  ii.  189 
ii.  446 
ii.  8 
ii.  526 
ii.  38 
ii.  72  his 
ii.  65 
ii.  71 


i.  1, 

i.  1,  2, 
i.  1-3, 
i.  3, 
i.  3,  4, 
i.  5, 
i.  9, 
i.  14, 
i.  18, 


JOHX. 

ii.  293, 
456, 


i.  329, 

ii. 

.  ii.  75, 

ii. 

ii. 

i.  10,  95,  ii. 


i.  26,  . 
i.  26,  27,  i. 
i.  32-34, . 
i.  52,  . 
ii.  16,  . 
ii.  19,  . 
ii.  19,  21, 
iii.  8,  . 
iv.  19,  . 
iv.  20,  . 
iv.  21,  . 
iv.  21-24, 
iv.  23,  24, 
iv.  24,  . 
V.  23,  . 
V.  31,  . 
V.  39,  i.  325 
V.  46,  47, 
vii.  15,  . 
vii.  42,  . 
viii.  40, 

viii.  46,  . 
viii.  58,  . 
ix.  39,  . 
X.  3, 
X.  8-10,  . 


34C,  ii. 


ii.  44, 

ii. 


472,  ii. 


408, 

496 

130 

59 

345 

341 

474 

404 

411 

75, 

450 

12 

280 

449 

450 

92 

113 

507 

36 

31 

10 

8 

413 

10 

75 

498 

450 

284 

G 

354 

453 

32, 

439 

110 

500 

461 

390 

490 


X.  18, 


X.  24, 
X.  30, 

xii.  24, 
xii.  27, 
xiii.  2, 
xiii.  27, 
xiv.  2, 
xiv.  6, 
xiv.  9, 
xiv.  11,  . 
xiv.  16,  . 
xiv.  23,  . 
xiv.  26,  . 
xiv.  27,  . 
xiv.  28,  . 
xiv.  30,  . 
XV.  22,  . 
xvi.  4,  . 
x^'i.  12,  13, 
xvi.  28, 
xvi.  33, 


VOT,.  PACE 

i.  lOS,  125,  346, 
ii.  23,  113 
i.  450 
ii.  500 
ii.  527 
.  i.  125,  346 
i.  232 
i.  224 
i.  152,  ii.  359 
i.  1,  ii.  409,  500 
.  i.  24,  93 
ii.  500 
i.  472 
i.  9,  ii.  506 
i.  36 


ii.  502 

ii.  502 

i.  110 

i.  38 

ii.   8 

36,  ii.  3 

ii.  254 

i.  233,  ii.  401, 

554 


xvii.  10, 
xvii.  16, 
xvii.  20,  21, 
xvii.  21, 
x\-ii.  22, 
xvii.  22,  23, 
xvii.  24  (21,  22 

xvii.  25, 
xviii.  4,  etc 
xviii.  36, 
xix.  2,    . 
xix.  11,  . 
xix.  34,  35, 
xix.  41, 
xix.  52,  . 
XX.  22,     i.  34 
XX.  26,    . 
XX.  26,  27, 
XX.  27,  . 
xxi.  18,  . 

Acts 
i.  3, 
i.  5, 

i.  8,  . 
iv.  32,  . 
V.  36,  37, 
V.  38,  39, 
V.  41,  . 
vii., 

vii.  22,  . 
vii.  42,  43, 
vii.  52,  . 
viii.  10,  . 


i.  29 
i.  87 
i.  56 
ii.  500 
ii.  50 
i.  56 
,  i.  85, 
263 
i.  104 
ii.  14 
i.  465 
i.  242 
i.  235 
ii.  40 
ii.  72  bis 
ii.  23 
39,  ii.  473 
ii.  66 
ii.  65 
ii.  64 
ii.  47 


ii.  66 
ii.  474 
i.  40 
ii.  500 
ii.  349 
i.  461 
ii.  47 
i.  98 
ii.  128 
ii.  275 
1.  379 
ii.  34S 


566 


INDEX  OF  TEXTS. 


viii.  18, 
ix.  15, 
X.  9-15, 
X.  14, 
X.  38, 
XV.  28,  29, 
xvii.  28, 
xxi.  26,  . 


VOL.  PAGE 

i.  34 
i.  233 
ii.  2 
ii.  319 
ii.  548 
ii.  515 
74,  ii.  166 
ii.   3 


Romans. 

i.  1-4,  .  .    i.  94 

i.  3, 4,  .  .    i.  248 

.  14,   .  .    ii.  134 

:.  18-23,  .    ii.  339 

.  19,   .  ii.  129,  192 

I.  20,   .  ii.  401,  459 

I.  20-22,  .    ii.  129 

21,   .  ii.  129,  470 

21-23,  .    ii.  192 

:.  22,  23,  .    ii.  152 

I.  23,   .  .    ii.  498 

..  24,  25,  .    ii.  471 

24,  26,  28,  .  ii.  301 

25,  .  ii.  340,  470 
26-28,  .    ii.  129 

L  27,      .  .        ii.  472 

28,      .  .        ii.  471 

ii.  4,  5,  .  .          i.  181 

ii.  4-10,  .  .         i.  168 

li.  11,     .  .      i.  63,  69 

ii.  13-16,  .         i.  141 

ii.  23,     .  .        ii.  498 

ii.  28,     .  .         i.  327 

ii.  29,     .  .        ii.  445 

V.  7,       .  .        ii.  189 

V.  8,       .  .        ii.  188 

V.  14,      .  .        ii.  206 

vi.  4,      .  .        ii.    72 

vi.  9,      .  .         ii.    23 

vi.  10,    .  .         ii.    72 

vii.  9,     .  .         ii.  142 

vii.  12,   .  .         i.  103 

vii.  12,  14,  .         ii.  444 

vii.  13,  .  .         i.  103 

vii.  23,  .  i.  246,  251 

vii.  24,  .  ii.  473,  539 

viii.  2,    .  .          i.  251 

viii.  7,    .  .          i.  252 

viii.  8,    .  .         ii.  460 
viii.  9,    .      i,  247,  ii.  468 

viii.  13,  ii.  320,  460, 
475 

viii.  14,  .        ii.  262 

viii.  16,  .        ii.  460 

viii.  19,  .          i.    63 

viii.  19,  20.     .  ii.  495 

viii.  19-21,  ii.  281  Us, 
486 

viiL  20,  .        ii.  472 


viii.  20,  21, 

viii.  22, 
viii.  32, 
viii.  35-37, 
viii.  37, 
viii.  38,  39, 
ix.  6, 
ix.  6,  8, 
ix.  8, 
ix.  11,  1 
ix.  14, 
ix.  16, 
ix.  18, 
ix.  20,  2 
x.  6-8, 
xi.  4, 
xi.  n,  12, 
xi.  33, 
xi.  36, 
xii.  11, 
xii.  14, 
xiii.  1,  2, 
xiii.  14, 
xiv.  1,    . 
xiv.  9,    . 
xiv.  15, 
xiv.  21, 
XV.  19,  . 
xvi.  15, 
xvi.  25,  26, 


VOL.  PAGE 

i.  63,  135, 

254,  258-264 

i.  63 

ii.  527 

ii.  395 

i.  396 

i.  233,  395 

i.  336 

i.  327 

i.  329 

i.  133 

i.  63 

i.  170,  203 

i.  171 

i.  171 

i.  38 

i.  308 

ii.  424 

.  i.  339  his 

ii.  407 

i.  122 

ii.  523 

ii.  548 

i.  81 

i.  396 

ii.  68,  466 

i.  374,  ii.  514 

ii.  514 

ii.  444 

ii.   6 

ii.  141 


1  Corinthians. 


i.  15, 
i.  18, 
i.  21, 
i.  23,  24, 
i.  24, 
i.  26, 
i.  26-28, 
i.  27, 
i.  27,  28 
i.  29, 
i.  30, 
ii.  2, 
ii.  2,  3, 
ii.  4,  5, 
ii.  6, 
ii.  6,  7, 
ii.  6-8, 

ii.  7, 
ii.  9, 
ii.  10, 
ii.  11, 
ii.  11,  1 
ii.  14, 
iii.  6,  7, 
iii.  9, 


i.  IS 

ii.  128 

ii.  284 

i.  411 

.  i.  18,  28 

i.  247,  ii.  352 

i,  282 

ii.  151,  467 

29,  .    ii.  340 

i.  185 

ii.  310,  385 

i.  348.  ii.  69 

i.  69 

i.  467,  ii.  337 

225,  ii.  31,  139 

i.  301 

i.  237,  239, 

304,  ii.  100 

i.  237,  ii.  140 

i.  267 

i.  36 

ii.  192 

i.  298 

ii.  414 

i.  207 

ii.  161 


,  13, 


VOL.  PAGE 

iii.  12,  .  i.  146,  ii.  173, 
283,  413 

iii.  13-15,  .    ii.  173 

iii.  18,  19,  .    i.  410 

iii.  19,  .  ii.  349,  446 

iv.  11,  12,  .    ii.  469 

iv.  12,  13,  .    ii.  333 

V.  1,   .  .    i.  267 

vi.  10,  .  ii.  523,  525 

vi.  16,  .  .    ii.  13 

vi.  17,  .  i.  108,  ii.  389 

\i.  20,  .  .    i.  374 

vii.  18,  .  .    i.  321 

vii.  31,  .  .   i.  68,  86 

viii.  4,  11,  .    ii.  511 

viii.  5,  .  .    ii.  495 

viii.  5,  6,  .    ii.  189 

viii.  8,  .  .    ii.  514 

viii.  13,  .    ii.  514 

ix.  8,   .  .    ii.   5 

ix.  9,   .  .    i.  304 

ix.  9,  10,  i.  305,  ii.  216 

ix.  26,  .  .    ii.  474 

ix.  27,  .  .    ii.  320 

X.  1,  2,  ,  .    ii.  216 

X.  3,  4,  .  ii.  216,  469 

X.  4,   .  .    i.  306 

X.  11,  .  i.  306,  ii.  209 
X.  13,  .  i.  227,  228,  229 

X.  18,  .  .    i.  327 

X.  23,  .  .    i.  117 

X.  31,  .  .    ii.  518 

xi.  3,   .  .    i.  106 

xi.  19,  .  .    ii.  ^6 

xii.  3,  .  .  i.  34,  40 

xii.  4-7,  .    i.  41 

xii.  6,  .  .    i.  42 

xii.  8,  .  .    ii.  128 

xii.  S,  9,  .    ii.  351 

xii.  11,  .  .    ii.  41 

xiii.  10,  .    ii.  359 
xiii.  12,  ii.  359,  460,  473 

xiv.  15,  .    i.  121 

XV.  2,  .  .    ii.  346 

XV.  3-8,  .    ii.  66 

XV.  9,  .  .    i.  67 

XV.  10,  .  .    i.  233 

XV.  12,  .  .    ii.  94 

XV.  22,  .  ii,  206,  375 

XV.  25,  .  .    i.  54 

XV.  25,  26,  .    ii.  374 

XV.  28,  .  i.  260,  270 

XV.  35-38,  .    ii.  286 

XV.  39-42,  .    i.  138 

XV.  40-42,  .    ii.  278 

XV.  41,  .  i.  129,  ii.  224 

XV.  41,  42,  .    ii.  191 

XV.  42,  .  .    i.   4 

XV.  42, 43,  .   iL  287 


INDEX  OF  TEXTS. 


567 


VOL.  rAOE 

VOL.  PAGE 

VOL.  PAGE 

XV.  44,  .   i. 

137,  ii.  224 

V.  25,  . 

ii.  475 

iv.  17,  . 

i.  151 

XV.  48,  49, 

ii.  287 

vi.  14,  . 

ii.  72 

v.  14,  . 

i.  325 

XV.  49,  . 

ii.  287 

XV.  50,  . 

ii.  287 

EPHESIAN.S.       1 

2  Thessalonians. 

XV.  51,  52, 

ii.  285 

i.  4, 

i.  256 

ii.  1-12, 

ii.  387 

XV.  52,  . 

ii.  09  bis 

i.  21,   . 

i.  45 

ii.  2,   . 

ii.  94 

XV.  53,  . 

ii.  454 

ii.  2, 

i.  151,  ii.  475 

ii.  3,  4,  . 

ii. 

52,  385 

XV.  53-56, 

i.  80 

ii.  3,   . 

ii.  238 

ii.  4, 

ii.  388 

XV.  54,  . 

ii.  374 

ii.  7,   . 

i.  85 

ii.  6-10, 

ii.  52 

ii.  20,  . 

ii.  507 

ii.  9,   . 

, 

ii.  389 

2  CORINT 

HIANS. 

iv.  10,  . 

i.  435 

ii.  10-12, 

ii.  52 

i.  10,   . 

i.  56 

iv.  13,  . 

i.  56 

ii.  4,   . 

i.  116,  289 

iv.  14,  . 

ii.  286 

1  Timothy 

iii.  0,   . 

i.  9,  ii.  443 

iv.  27,  . 

i.  232 

i.  15,   . 

ii.  469 

iii.  7,  8, 

ii.  443 

V.  1,   . 

ii.  406 

ii.  1,  2,  . 

ii.  556 

iii.  15,  . 

ii.  330 

V.  16,  . 

ii.  396 

ii.  5,   . 

ii.  384 

iii.  15-17, 

i.   9 

V.  31,  32, 

ii.  216 

ii.  20,  21, 

ii.  236 

iv.  4, 

i.  355 

vi.  2,  3, 

.  i.  94,  324 

iii.  16,  . 

ii.  112 

iv.  6,   . 

ii.  341 

x\.  11,  . 

ii.  520,  540, 

iv.  1-3,  . 

i.  "ll6, 

ii.  334 

iv.  10,  . 

ii.  460 

556 

iv.  4,  5, 

ii.  518 

iv.  18,  .   i. 

89,  267,  ii. 

vi.  12,  . 

i.  225,  232,  ii. 

iv.  10,  . 

ii.  188 

401 

520 

vi.  17,  18, 

ii.  444 

V.  1,   .   i 

89,  ii.  454 

vi.  13,  . 

i.  224 

vi.  20,  21, 

ii.  94 

V.  1-4,  . 

ii.  454 

V.  6,  8,  . 

ii.  473 

Philippians. 

2  Timothy 

v.  10,  . 

i.  2i:^ 

i.  23,   . 

.  i.  64,  149 

i.  3,   . 

i.  93, 

"ii.  331 

V.  13,  . 

i.  113 

ii.  5-9,  . 

ii.  178 

i.  16-18, 

i.  212 

V.  16,  . 

ii.  461 

ii.  6,  7, 

i.  348,  ii.  175 

ii.  5,   . 

ii.  541 

V.  20,  . 

ii.  492 

ii.  6-8,  . 

ii.  353 

ii.  10,  . 

ii.  141 

V.  21,  . 

ii.  175 

ii.  10,  11, 

i.  29,  ii.  543 

ii.  11,  . 

ii.  72 

vi.  16,  . 

ii.  506 

ii.  13,   . 

i.  170,  209 

ii.  15,  . 

ii.  268 

viii.  16, 

i.  230 

iii.  10,  . 

ii.  72 

ii.  20,  . 

i.  135 

ix.  9,  10, 

i.  94 

iii.  21,  . 

ii.  473 

ii.  20,  21, 

i.  214 

X.  3,   . 

ii.  334 

iv.  8,  9, 

i.  101 

ii.  21,  . 

i.  135 

X.  5,  i.  230, 

ii.  161,  269 

iv.  13,  . 

i.  233,  ii.  554 

iii.  6, 

ii.  363 

xi.  14,  . 

ii.  494 

iii.  8,   . 

ii.  218 

xi.  22,  . 

i.  94 

Colossians. 

iv.  7,   . 

ii.  474 

xii.  2,  . 

ii.  450 

i.  15,   . 

i.  22,  95,  105, 

xii.  4,  . 

ii.  342,  465 

355,  ii.  407,  450 

Titus. 

xiii.  3,  .   i. 

3,  112,  344 

i.  16,   . 

i.  130 

i.  9,  10, 

. 

ii.  129 

xiii.  4,  . 

i.  348 

i.  16,  17, 

i.  106 

i.  12,   . 

. 

ii.  124 

i.  16-18, 

i.  59 

iii.  3-6,  . 

i.  470 

Galat 

lANS. 

ii.  8,   . 

i.  396 

iii.  10,  . 

ii.  333 

1.4,   . 

ii.  396 

ii.  9,   . 

i.  110 

i.  19,   . 

_i.  447 

ii.  15,  . 

ii.  67 

Hebrews 

ii.  5,   . 

ii.  445 

ii.  16,  . 

i.  307,  ii.  510 

i.  3,   . 

i.  22, 

24,  25, 

ii.  12,  . 

ii.   2 

ii.  18,  19, 

ii.  275 

343 

ii.  20,  . 

i.  344 

iii.  3,   . 

i.  112,  347 

i.  7,   . 

. 

i.  122 

iii.  3,   . 

i.  35 

iii.  5, 

ii.  320,  460 

i.  8, 

ii.  500 

iv.  10,  11, 

ii.  509 

iii.  8,   . 

ii.  238 

i.  14,   . 

i.  45, 

244,  ii. 

iv.  21,  22, 

ii.   5 

iii.  17,  . 

ii.  518 

271,  520 

iv.  21-24, 

ii.  210 

iv.  6, 

ii.  114,  347 

ii.  1,   . 

i.  232 

iv.  26,  . 

i.  329 

iii.  14,  . 

1.  390 

V.  2,   . 

ii.  219 

1  Thessalonians. 

iv.  12,  . 

i.  20 

V.  8,   .   i. 

171,  ii.  399 

ii.  14-16, 

i.  379 

iv.  14,  . 

, 

ii.  519 

V.  17,  . 

i.  227,  245, 

iv.  13-15, 

ii.  69 

iv.  15,  . 

, 

i.  110 

247,  ii.  510 

iv.  15,  16, 

ii.  285 

V.  12-14, 

, 

ii.  134 

V.  19-21, 

i.  247 

iv.  16,  . 

ii.  69 

V.  14,  . 

, 

ii.  350 

V.  22,  . 

i  35 

iv.  16,  17, 

ii.  285 

vi.  7,  8, 

. 

i.  177 

5G8 


INDEX  OF  PRINCIPAL  SUBJECTS. 


VOL.  l',VGE 

VOL.  PAGE 

vol..  PACK 

viii.  5,  . 

i.  113,  271, 

1  Peter. 

ii.  1,  2,     .    i.  117 

30G,  307 

i.  9, 

i.  121 

ii.  2,   ii.  130,  188,  505 

ix.  26,  . 

i.  85 

ii.  5, 

ii.  507 

ii.  6,   .    .    i.  347 

X.  29,  . 

ii.  499 

ii.  9, 

ii.  277 

iii.  2,   .   i.  2G3,  ii.  190 

xi.  24-2G, 

i.   1 

ii.  22, 

ii.  175 

V.  19,  .    .  i.  52,  88 

xi.  28,  . 

i.  377 

iu.  15, 

ii.  114,  435 

xi.  37,  38, 

ii.  431,  441 

iii.  18- 

2i, 

i.  102 

Eevelation. 

xii.  22,  . 

ii.  451 

V.  6, 

ii.  142 

i.  8,   .    .    i.  29 

xii.  22,  . 

i,  330,  ii.  495 

V.  8, 

i.  244 

V.  8,   .    .    ii.  505 

xii.  29,  . 

ii.  413 

X.  4,   .    .    ii.  243 

1 

John. 

X.  9,   .    .    ii.  342 

James. 

i.  5, 

i.  449 

xiv.  6,  .    .    i.  339 

iy.  17,  . 

i.  38 

i.  5, 

i 

8, 

343,  ii.  278 

xxi.,   .    .    ii.  262 

II.— INDEX  OF  PEINCIPAL  SUBJECTS. 


Abaf.is,  the  Hyperborean,  ii.  112. 

Abraham,  i.  419 ;  and  Isaac  and  Jacob, 
the  names  of,  united  with  that  of 
God,  potent  against  demons,  ii. 
195-197. 

Abstinence,  the,  practised  by  the 
Pythagoreans  and  Christians,  the 
different  reasons  for,  ii.  320. 

Acts  of  Paul,  Tlw,  quoted,  i.  20. 

Adam,  not  the  name  of  an  individual 
but  of  the  w^hole  race,  ii.  206. 

Ader  [Hadad],  i.  389. 

Adrian  and  Jesus,  ii.  117,  118. 

Adultery,  reasons  why  the  followers 
of  Zeno  and  Epicurus  abstain  from, 
ii.  484. 

Advents  of  Christ,  two,  predicted,  i. 
459. 

^sculajjius  and  his  supposed  heavenly 
power,  ii.  102,  103,  104. 

Africanus,  the  letter  of,  to  Origen,  i. 
3G9, 370;  reply  of  Origen  to,  371,  etc. 

Ages,  the,  i.  85. 

Allegories  in  Scripture,  ii.  209,  210  ; 
Celsus  accuses  Christians  of  having 
recourse  to,  when  ashamed  of  Scrip- 
ture histories,  214  ;  Celsus'  objec- 
tion to,  refuted,  215-217. 

Altar,  the  only,  recognised  by  Chris- 
tians, ii.  505. 

Altars,  images,  and  temples,  why 
Christians  reject  and  abhor,  ii.  480- 
487. 

Ammon  forbids  the  use  of  cows'  flesh, 
ii.  306. 

Anaxarchus,  anecdote  of,  ii.  475,  476. 

Angel,  the,  who  had  power  to  hurt 
the  uncircumcised,  ii.  318,  319. 


Angels,  doctrine  of  the  Church  re- 
specting, i.  7  ;  how  referred  to  b}'^ 
Paul,  45 ;  a  particular  office  assigned, 
to  each,  65  ;  diversities  among,  the 
result  of  merit,  66  ;  capable  of  good 
or  evil,  67,  69  ;  the  substance  of, 
122,  123  ;  superior  to  men,  ii.  189, 
190;  employment  and  dignity  of, 
271,519,  520;  not  to  be  worshipped 
or  invoked,  272 ;  that  waited  on 
Jesus,  327,  S2S. 

Angels,  e\il,  ii.  517. 

Animal  man,  the,  i.  120,  121. 

Animals,  irrational,  the  superiority  of 
man  to,  ii.  244-256  ;  power  of  sor- 
cery attributed  to,  by  Celsus,  252  ; 
knowledge  of  God  attributed  to,  by 
Celsus,  254-256 ;  division  of,  by 
Moses,  into  clean  and  unclean,  260  ; 
according  to  Celsus,  nearer  to  God 
and  more  beloved  by  Him  than 
men,  263,  264. 

Annihilation  of  material  substances 
not  possible,  i.  58. 

Anthropopathy,  the,  of  Scripture,  ii. 
23G,  239. 

Antichrist,  ii.  385-388. 

Antinous,  ii.  117,  118,  119. 

' AvTix^ovig,  i.  86. 

Ants  and  bees  asserted  by  Celsus  to 
be  not  inferior  in  intelligence  to 
man,  ii.  246-248. 

ApoUonius  of  Tyana,  ii.  380. 

Apopomjyfdus,  i.  223. 

Apostles,  the  subjects  of  their  preach- 
ing, i.  3,  etc. 

Archilochus,  the  poet,  ii.  105. 

Aristeas  of    Proconnesus,   the  story 


INDEX  OF  PRINCIPAL  SUBJECTS. 


i69 


of,    ii.    lOG-lOS;  aiad   Jesus,    lOS- 

111. 
Aristotle    flees  from   persecution,   i. 

471. 
Ark,  the,  of  Noah,  ii.  207. 
Artaxerxes  and  Mordecai,  i.  231. 
Ascension  of  Moses,T/ie,  quoted,!.  222. 

'AfUfiant,  1.  5. 

Augury,  ii.  252,  253,  254,  255,  250, 
257  ;  demons  the  real  source  of, 
259-201  ;  forbidden  by  Moses,  202. 

Avenging  injuries,  ii.  479,  480. 

Bat5El,  the  overthrow  of  the  tower  of, 
ii.  180,  181. 

Barnabas,  The  Epistle  of,  quoted  re- 
specting the  two  ways,  i.  231  ;  re- 
specting the  disciples  of  Jesus,  468. 

Bees  and  ants  asserted  by  Celsns  to 
be  not  inferior  to  man  in  intelli- 
gence, ii.  240-256. 

Betrayal,  the,  of  .Jesus  by  Judas,  ii. 
15,  etc.,  17,  etc. 

Bethlehem,  Jesus  bom  in,  i.  453. 

Birds,  divination  or  augury  by,  ii.  254, 
255,  etc.,  258,  259. 

Birth,  the  influence  of,  i.  427. 

Blessedness,  the  future,  of  the  saints, 
not  carnal,  i.  145,  146;  but  spiritual, 
147-153. 

Bodily  nature,  the  perpetuity  of  the, 
i.  77-79. 

Body,  the,  can  rational  creatures  live 
without  ?  i.  80,  82  ;  to  be  made  im- 
mortal and  incorruptible,  the  resur- 
rection of,  137,  ii.  284-292;  varieties 
in  the  resurrection  body,  i.  138  ;  a 
word  to  weak  believers  respecting 
the  resurrection  body,  139,  etc.  ; 
as  well  as  the  soul,  the  work  of  God, 
Celsus  refuted,  ii.  220-224,  225,  226 ; 
Celsus  misrepresents  the  \aews  of 
Christians  respecting,  533,  534  ;  the 
care  of,  assigned  by  the  Egyptians 
to  thirty-six  demons,  542,  543. 

Breath  of  the  power  of  God,  the,  i. 
26-28. 

Brightness  of  the  Father's  glory, 
Christ  the,  i.  24. 

Calimachu.s,  his  hymn  to  Jupiter 
quoted,  ii.  124,  125. 

Callatians,  a  horrid  custom  of,  ii.  307. 

Camel,  easier  for  a,  to  go  through  the 
eye  of  a  needle,  etc.,  ii.  354,  355. 

Chceremon,  his  Treatise  on  Comets 
cited,  i.  462. 

Christ,  the  words  of,  i.  1  ;  apostolical 
doctrine  respecting,  3 ;  the  only- 
begotten  Son  of  God,  18  ;  the  wis- 


dom of  God,  18, 19,  20  ;  the  eternal 
generation  of,  19,  22  ;  generated  by 
the  divine  will,  23  ;  the  image  of 
the  invisible  God,  23,  24 ;  the 
brightness  of  the  glory  of  God,  24, 
25  ;  the  figure  of  God's  person  or 
subsistence,  25  ;  the  breath  of  the 
power  of  God,  20  ;  the  efflux  of 
God's  glory,  28  ;  the  splendour  of 
eternallight,  30;  the  stainless  mirror 
of  God's  ivipyua,  31  ;  the  image  of 
God's  goodness,  31,  32  ;  the  incar- 
nation of,  106  ;  His  union  with  God, 
108  ;  His  union  with  God  the  re- 
ward of  His  love,  109  ;  possessed  a 
human  and  rational  soul,  110,  111 ; 
anointed  with  the  oil  of  joy,  111, 
112;  and  Moses,  as  lawgivers,  275, 
etc. ;  predicted,  279,  etc. ,  285,  etc.  ; 
all  the  majesty  of  His  divinity  not 
confined  within  the  limits  of  the 
body  of,  345-347  ;  Jacob's  prophecy 
of,  454  ;  sufl'erings  of,  predicted, 
456  ;  two  advents  of,  predicted, 
459,  etc.  ;  the  belief  of  Jews  and 
Christians  in  the  advent  of,  Celsus 
answered,  ii.  180.     See  Jesus. 

Christianitj',  the  power  of,  i.  277,  etc., 
424,  425,  420  ;  its  own  defence,  393, 
395  ;  its  real  evidence,  399,  400  ; 
general  conspiracy  against,  400  ;  not 
a  secret  system,  403  ;  martyrs  for, 
praised  by  Celsus,  404 ;  adaptability 
of,  to  all  orders  of  mind,  ii.  4*34  ; 
the  object  of,  to  make  all  men  wise, 
126,  127,  128, 152  ;  Celsus'  slanders 
of  the  teachers  of,  refuted,  153,  154, 
155,  156. 

Christians,  the,  accused  of  entering 
into  secret  associations,  i.  398,  399  ; 
hostility  of  the  heathen  to,  400  ; 
the  morals  of,  400,  401  ;  regulations 
of,  relating  to  idolatrj-,  401,  402  ; 
use  no  incantations  in  casting  out 
demons,  402,  403  ;  do  not  believe 
without  a  reason,  405  ;  reformed  by 
the  power  of  their  religion,  406  ;  the 
points  of  difference  between  the 
Jews  and,  not  trifling,  ii.  85,  86,  88; 
not  rebels  against  the  Jewish  State, 
90,  91  ;  the  zeal  of,  to  diffuse  their 
principles,  92  ;  few  at  first,  yet  not 
very  few,  93 ;  difi"erences  of  opinion 
among,  from  the  first,  94  ;  exist- 
ence of  heresies  among,  no  reproach 
to,  94-96  ;  the  basis  of  the  union  of, 
96,  97 ;  charged  with  inventing 
terrors,  98 ;  the  religion  of,  com- 
pared by  Celsus  with  that  of  the 
Egyptians,    98,    99 ;    charged    bj' 


570 


INDEX  OF  PRINCIPAL  SUBJECTS. 


Celsus  with  inviting  to  their  ranks 
the  ignorant  only,  r25-131 ;  further 
calumnies  of   Celsus   against,    131, 
133  ;  their  mode  of  admitting  mem- 
bers,   132 ;    instructions  given  by, 
graduated  to  the   capacity  of  the 
hearers,  133;  desire  to  instruct  all 
classes  of  men,  134  ;  Celsus'  calum- 
nies respecting  the  way  their  teachers 
deal  with  the  young  and  ignorant, 
135-138  ;  the  worst  invited  by,  to 
do    them    good,     139,     140,     141  ; 
slander  of  Celsus,  that  wise  men 
are  driven  from  the  religion  of,  151 ; 
charged  with  seeking  after  the  un- 
intelligent,    152  ;     other     charges 
against   the  teachers   of,  repelled, 
153-156  ;  not  won  by  vain  hopes, 
158  ;  Celsus'  ridicule  of,  as  bats  and 
ants,  etc.,  183,  184 ;   the   acknow- 
ledged   opinions   of,    which    make 
them  noble,  185,  186  ;  the  character 
of,    187,    ISS  ;    do  not    profess  to 
monopolize  God,  188,  189;  the  argu- 
ment between  the  Jews  and,  329  ; 
sects  and  heresies  among,  331,  333, 
335 ;  old  calumnies    against,    365, 
366  ;  Celsus  confounds  them  with 
certain  silly  errorists,    365,    etc.  ; 
Celsus  reviles — answer  to   Celsus' 
revilings  of,   373-376  ;  their  views 
of   God  misrepresented  by  Celsus, 
449-450  ;  their  hope   after  death, 
450-451 ;  further  calumnies  of  Celsus, 
462  ;  instructed  and  stigmatized  by 
Celsus,    468,  469  ;   how  they  live, 
471  ;    why    they    reject    images, 
temples,  and   altars,  483-487  ;  not 
inconsistent  in  their    rejection  of 
images,    487 ;     use    no     barbarous 
words  in  prayer,  522  ;  do  not  revile 
the  statues  of  the  gods,  523,  524, 
525 ;  the  loving    zeal  of,    for  the 
salvation  of  men,  536  ;  the  liberty 
of,  538,  539,  540  ;  urged  by  Celsus 
to  help  the  king  and  fight  for  him — 
how  they  do  this,   556-558 ;    why 
they  refuse  to  take  oflSlce    under 
government,  558. 
Christs,  false,  460,  461. 
Chrysippus'  treatise   On  the  Cure,  of 
the    Passions    quoted,   i.    470;    On 
the  Subjugation  of  the  Passions,  ii. 
535. 
Churches  of  the  Christians,  and  hea- 
then assemblies,  compared  and  con- 
trasted, ii.  110,  112. 
Circumcision,  i.  419;  as  practised  by 
the  Jews  diflerent  from  that  prac- 
tised by  the  Gentiles,  ii.  316,  318 ; 


of  Moses'  son,  318,  319 ;  abolished 
by  Christ,  319. 
Clean  and  unclean  animals,  the  reason 
of  the  ^losaic  division  into,  ii.  260. 
Clement  of  Eome  quoted,  i.  86,  87. 
Cleomedes,  the  boxer,  of  Astypalea, 

ii.  105,  114. 
Clothing,  the,  of  the  soul  and  of  the 

body,  i.  81. 
Condescension,  the,  of  God,  ii.   172, 

174,  175. 
Conflagration,  the,  of  the  world,  Cel- 
sus' cavils  against,  ii.  281-285. 
Conflict,  the,  with  the  powers  of  evil, 

i.  232,  etc. 
Confusion  of  tongues,  the,  at  Babel,  ii. 

297-299. 
Consummation,  the,  i.  53-59. 
Controversy  between  Jason  and  Papis- 
cus,  The,  concerning  Chi'ist,  referred 
to,  218,  219. 
Conversion  possible  for  the  very  worst, 

ii.  145-148. 
Converts  from  Judaism  do  not  desert 

the  law  of  their  fathers,  ii.  1,  2. 
Corporeal  and  incorporeal   being,    i. 

59-65. 
Corporeity,  will  it  ever  be  destroyed  ? 

i.  82,  83,  etc. 
Corruptible,  the,  putting  on  incorrup- 

tion,  i.  80,  81. 
Cosmogony,  the  Mosaic,  the  criticism 
of  Celsus  on,  answered,  ii.  390-392, 
402,  403. 
Cows'  flesh  forbidden  by  Ammon,  ii. 

306. 
Creation,  the,  of  the  world  in  time,  i. 
253,  etc.;  objection  to  the  creation 
of  the  world  in  time  answered,  255 ; 
the  peculiar  term  employed  in  Scrip- 
ture to  express,  258. 
Creation  of  man,    the,    ridiculed  by 
Celsus,  ii.  199,  200  ;  and  of  beast, 
the  work  of  God,  220-224. 
Creature,  the,  subjected  to  vanity,  i. 

63-65,  257,  258. 
Creatures,  made  by  God  in  the  begin- 
ning, i.  126  ;  changeable  and  mut- 
able, 128  ;  varieties  of,  129,  130. 
Crocodiles,    Celsus  has   no    fault  to 
find  with  the  worshippers  of,  ii. 
310. 
Cup,  the  prayer  of  Jesus  respecting  the, 

ii.  32. 
Customs,  ought  those  of  our  respective 
countries  to  be  followed?  ii.  305, 
etc. ;  the  variety  and  absurdity  of, 
306,  etc. 
Cycles  of  mortal  things,  asserted  by 
Celsus,  refutation  of  the  notion  of. 


INDEX  OF  PRINCIPAL  SUBJECTS. 


571 


ii.  232,  233 ;  taught  by  the  Stoics, 
389,  390. 

Dan  and  Bethel,  i.  390. 

Daniel,  the  wisdom  of,  ii.  127. 

Daniel,  additions  to  the  book  of,  in  the 
LXX.,  i.  371,  372,  373. 

Darkness,  outer,  i.  144. 

Darkness,  the  rulers  and  powers  of, 
obtained  their  degrees  of  evil  by 
their  own  conduct,  i.  69. 

Darkness,  the,  round  about  God,  ii. 
355. 

Days,  sacred,  ii.  509,  510. 

Death,  how  could  the  Jews  in  capti- 
^^ty  pass  the  sentence  of  ?  i.  385. 

Death,  the  hope  of  Christians  after, 
ii.  450,  451. 

Death,  the  last  enemj'',  destroyed,  i. 
2G8,  269. 

Defection,  the,  of  men,  i.  43. 

Deluge,  the,  the  cavils  of  Celsus  re- 
specting, ii.  206-208,  401. 

Demons,  formulce  used  against,  ii.  195, 
196,  197 ;  the  source  of  augury  by 
birds,  etc.,  259,  260,  261 ;  the  seven 
ruling,  referredto by  Celsus,  368,369; 
cast  out  by  Christians,  487 ;  the  wor- 
ship of,  inconsistent  with  the  worship 
of  God,  488-490;  eating  things  offered 
to,  514-517;  have  nothing  to  do  with 
food  and  drink,  516-518 ;  first-fruits 
not  to  be  offered  to,  519  ;  can  inflict 
no  injury  on  Christians,  521,  522  ; 
Jesus  not  a  demon,  524 ;  afraid  of 
martyrs,  528  ;  not  set  over  the  fruits 
of  the  earth,  542  ;  thirty-six,  among 
the  Egyptians,  have  assigned  to 
them  the  care  of  the  human  body, 
542  ;  caution,  according  to  Celsus, 
required  in  the  service  of,  544-546  ; 
other  references  to,  110,  113,  114, 
115,  117,  194,  232,  259,  260,  261, 
264,  272,  512,  544. 

Desire  of  knowledge,  the,  to  be  satis- 
fied in  a  future  state,  i.  146-151. 

Deuteronomy,  the  book  of,  i.  338,  339. 

Devil,  the,  and  his  angels,  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Church  respecting,  i.  5 ; 
the  titles  of,  45  ;  not  incapable  of 
goodness,  68  ;  the  agency  of,  as  set 
forth  in  the  Old  Testament,  222; 
as  revealed  in  the  New  Testament, 
224 ;  not  the  prompter  to  all  sins, 
227-229;  how  he  and  his  allied 
powers  tempt,  229 ;  the  contest 
against,  232,  etc. ;  the  charges  of 
Celsus  against  the  Christians  in  re- 
lation to,  refuted,  ii.  3S0-3S4;  the 
fall  of,  385. 


Diagram,  a  curious,  referred  to  by 
Celsus  as  in  use  among  certain  here- 
tics, ii.  362,  363,  368,  369,  376,  377. 

Disciples,  the,  of  Jesus,  their  devotion 
to  their  Master,  i.  430  ;  defended 
against  Celsus,  466-470  ;  justified 
in  fleeing  from  persecution,  471 ; 
truthfulness  of,  ii.  21,  23. 

Dionysius,  ii.  103. 

Dioscuri,  the,  and  Hercules,  and  JEs- 
culapius,  no  gods,  ii.  102,  103. 

Divination,  li.  254,  255,  256,  257,  258, 
259. 

Doctrine  of  Peter,  The,  the  apocryphal 
work  so  called,  quoted,  i.  6. 

Dositheans,  the,  ii.  349. 

Dove,  the  descent  of  a,  on  Jesus,  i. 
440,  441,  442-446. 

Earth,  the  distribution  of  the  several 
parts  of,  among  superintending 
spirits,  according  to  Celsus,  ii.  293, 
etc.;  the  correct  view  respecting, 
296,  297. 

Ebionite,  meaning  of  the  name,  i.  329. 

Ebionites,  who  so  called,  ii.  1. 

Efflux  of  the  glory  of  God,  Christ 
the,  i.  2S. 

Egypt,  how  the  Hebrews  were  de- 
livered from,  ii.  89,  90. 

Egyptians,  the,  what  the  Israelites 
did  with  the  spoil  of,  i.  388,  389  ; 
the  Jews  not  descended  from,  ii. 
SS-90;  the  religion  of,  foolishly 
compared  by  Celsus  to  that  of  the 
Christians,  98,  99 ;  inconsistently 
lauded  by  Celsus,  423  ;  assign  the 
care  of  the  human  body  to  thirty- 
six  demons,  542,  543. 

Elephants,  the  fidelity  of,  to  oaths, 
according  to  Celsus,  ii.  265. 

End,  the,  when  it  will  come,  i.  54  ; 
and  the  beginning,  55 ;  what  shall 
be  after,  58  ;  admonitory  remarks 
respecting,  262-273. 

Enemy,  the  last,  destroyed,  i.  268, 269. 

Enoch,  The  book  of,  quoted,  i.  352,  ii. 
325. 

Epictetus,  an  anecdote  of,  ii.  475,  476. 

Epicureans,  reasons  of  the,  for  abstain- 
ing from  adultery,  ii.  484. 

Eros,  the  story  of,  from  the  Sympo- 
sium of  Plato,  ii.  203-205. 

Esaias  sawn  asunder,  i.  377,  378. 

Esoteric  and  exoteric  doctrines  of 
Christianity,  the,  i.  403. 

Eternal  generation  of  Christ,  the,  i. 
19,  23. 

Etymological  fancies  in  Scripture,  i. 
383. 


572 


INDEX  OF  PRINCIPAL  SUBJECTS. 


Eiaphrates,  ii.  367. 

Euripides  quoted,  ii.  24.3. 

Eve,  the  formation  of,  ridiculed  by 
Celsus,  ii.  201. 

Evidences  of  the  truth  of  Christianity, 
i.  445,  446. 

Evil,  or  good,  every  rational  created 
nature  capable  of,  i.  68 ;  God,  not 
the  author  of,  395-398 ;  what  sort 
of,  God  may  be  said  to  cause,  398  ; 
the  final  complete  destruction  of, 
555. 

Evil  beings,  made  such  by  themselves 
in  their  respective  degrees,  1.  69. 

Evils,  nevermore  nor  fewer,  according 
to  Celsus — refutation  of  this  opinion, 
ii.  228,  229,  230 ;  the  inquiry  into 
the  origin  of,  difficult,  231,  232; 
the  source  of,  232 ;  seeming,  235, 
236  ;  allowed  for  good  ends,  398. 

Eyes,  open  and  shut, — the  inner  and 
outer,  ii.  461. 

Faith,  the  reforming  power  of  the 
Christian,  i.  406;  the  caU  to,  ra- 
tional, 407. 

Faith  in  Jesus,  ii.  120. 

Fallen  spirits,  i.  57;  the  restoration 
of,  57,  58. 

Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  a  sum- 
mary of  the  doctrine  of  the,  i. 
342,  etc. 

Figure  of  the  Father's  person,  Christ 
the,  i.  25. 

Fire,  eternal,  the  threatening  of,  i. 
40-43. 

Fire,  God  a  consuming,  i.  9 ;  why 
God  is  represented  as,  ii.  172,  173. 

Flesh  and  spirit,  i.  245-248. 

Floods  and  conflagrations,  ii.  171. 

Food,  spiritual,  i.  147  ;  different  ways 
of  preparing,  i.  480,  481. 

Foolishness,  the  kind  recommended 
by  Christianity,  i.  410. 

Foreknowledge,  does  not  necessitate 
the  events  foreseen,  ii.  25,  26,  27, 
28 ;  the  gift  of,  does  not  necessarily 
imply  virtue,  105 ;  no  proof  of 
divinity,  262,  263. 

Foundation  of  the  world,  the,  i.  256. 

Free-will,  i.  4, 132, 133 ;  fully  asserted, 
157,  etc. ;  able  to  resist  external 
causes,  161 ;  proved  from  Scripture, 
165,  etc. ;  passages  of  Scripture  ap- 
parently opposed  to,  explained,  168- 
221. 

Gehe^tna,  ii.  263,  2G4. 
Generation,  eternal,  the,  of  Christ,  i. 
19,  22,  23. 


Glory,  human,  forbidden,  ii.  447. 

God,  apostolic  doctrine  respecting,  i. 
3  ;  a  Spirit,  8-11  ;  light,  ihid. ;  fire, 
9;  incomprehensible,  11  ;  revealed 
in  His  works,  12,  13;  simple  and 
uncompounded  in  His  nature,  12, 
15;  the  nature  of,  surpasses  natu- 
ral bodies,  15,  16  ;  invisible, — how 
said  to  be  seen,  16,  17;  the  image 
of,  23,  24,  262,  263;  omnipotent, 
28,  301,  ii.  149;  nature  of  His  power, 
31;  created  all  things,  i.  .34;  the, 
of  the  law  and  the  prophets  the 
same  as  the  Father  of  Jesus  Christ, 
91,  etc. ;  not  a  body,  91  ;  anthro- 
popathic  expressions  respecting,  in 
the  Old  Testament,  explained,  96, 
97  ;  the  justice  and  goodness  of, 
97-105;  the  soul  of,  125, 126;  nothing 
happens  without  the  permission  of, 
235 ;  what  was  He  doing  before  He 
created  the  world  1  256  ;  in  the  end, 
all  in  all,  264,  265  ;  one,  believed  in 
by  the  Jews,  420,  421  ;  His  dealing 
with  the  good  and  the  bad,  ii.  149, 
150 ;  His  descent  upon  earth  ob- 
jected to  by  Celsus, — meaning  of 
His  descent,  162-166,  172  ;  by  de- 
scending on  earth  He  does  not 
vacate  heaven,  166  ;  whj^  He  de- 
sires to  make  Himself  known  to 
men,  167,  168  ;  in  every  age  has 
passed  into  the  souls  of  men,  168  ; 
has  revealed  Himself  to  some  pre- 
eminently, 169 ;  Celsus  accuses 
Christians  of  babbling  about,  171  ; 
a  consuming  fire,  172,  173 ;  the  con- 
descension of,  172,  173,  174,  175 ; 
further  objections  of  Celsus  to  the 
descent  of,  to  earth,  answered—  ob- 
ject of  the  incarnatioQ  of,  177,  178 ; 
figurative  language  used  to  describe, 
2U0,  404  ;  the  one  Creator  of  body 
and  soul,  man  and  beast,  220-224 ; 
anger,  -wrath,  etc.,  ascribed  to — 
how  this  is  to  be  understood,  237- 
239  ;  made  all  things  for  the  sake 
of  man,  239,  240,  241,  242;  ever 
near  His  people,  280 ;  the  name 
given  to,  is  not  unimportant,  but 
the  contrarj',  315-317;  darkness 
round  about,  355 ;  those  who  call 
Him  "  accursed,"  365,  366,  367  ;  in 
what  sense  said  to  make  evil,  .395, 
397  ;  not  incapable  of  persuading 
men,  398,  399  ;  in  what  sense  said 
to  repent,  399,  400  ;  the  resting  at- 
tributed to,  403  ;  man  made  in  the 
image  of,  405,  406  ;  can  He  be 
reached  by  a  word  ?  408 ;  how  to 


INDEX  OF  PRINCIPAL  SUBJECTS. 


573 


know,  408,  409,  410,  411 ;  the  Spirit 
of,  413,  414;  Celsus  misrepresents 
the  views  of  Christians  respecting, 
449,  450 ;  how  seen,  455  ;  not  con- 
fined to  place,  45G  ;  not  known  by 
the  senses,  457,  etc.;  hard  to  find 
out,  4G4,  4G5  ;  adapts  His  truth  to 
all  classes,  404  ;  seen  in  Christ,  465, 
4G6  ;  known  by  the  simplest  Chris 
tian,  through  the  help  of  divine 
grace,  46G,  467  ;  the  worship  of 
Christ  consistent  with  the  sole 
worship  of,  500,  501  ;  worshipped 
equally  well  in  different  languages, 
522, 

Gods,  Scythian  and  Greek,  ii.  377, 
378  ;  many,  not  to  be  served, 
492,  etc.,  49G-500;  Christians  do 
not  revile  the  statues  of  the, 
523. 

Goodness,  divine,  i.  32  ;  and  justice, 
97,  etc. ;  consistent  with  the  inflic- 
tion of  punishment,  98,  etc. 

Gospel,  the,  not  perverted  by  Chris- 
tians, ii.  33. 

Gospels,  the,  not  all  pure  history,  i. 
315,  317,  320 ;  their  character  and 
authors,  ii.  121. 

Greek  philosophy  and  learning  to  be 
made  subservient  to  Christianity, 
i.  388. 

Gregory  Thaumaturgus,  letter  of 
Origen  to,  i.  388. 

Hardening,  the,  of  Pharaoh's  heart, 
i.  169,  etc.,  176-191. 

Healing  art,  the  possession  of  the, 
does  not  necessarily  imply  vii'tue, 
ii.  105. 

Heaven,  i.  88,  89,  90,  152. 

Heavenly  bodies,  the,  animated  and 
endowed  with  souls,  i.  59-65. 

Heavenly  Dialogue,  A,  quoted  by  Cel- 
sus, ii,  503. 

Heavens,  the,  opened  to  Jesus  at  His 
baptism,  i.  448,  449,  450 ;  not  called 
God,  nor  worshipped  by  the  Jews, 
ii.  275-279. 

Hebrew  Master,  the,  of  Origen,  cited, 
i.  35. 

Hebrews,  the,  not  Egyptians  by  de- 
scent,— how  freed  from  Egyptian 
bondage,  ii.  88-92. 

Hercules,  proposed  by  Celsus  to 
Christians  as  an  object  of  homage, 
— the  character  of,  ii.  475,  476, 

Heresies  among  Christians  no  re- 
proach, ii.  96-98,  331-333,  335. 

Hermas,  The  Shepherd  of,  quoted,  i, 
34,  35,  230,  301. 


Herod  seeks  to  destroy  the  child 
Jesus,  i.  464,  465. 

Heroes  proposed  by  Celsus  to  the 
Christians  as  objects  of  homage 
superior  to  their  own,  ii.  475. 

Hesiod  quoted  as  to  the  formation  of 
Pandora,  ii.  201,  202. 

Holy  Spirit,  the,  the  apostolic  doc- 
trine of,  i.  3  ;  what,  10  ;  the  exist- 
ence of,  33  ;  what  we  are  taught  in 
Scripture  respecting,  34 ;  not  created , 
35  ;  one  of  the  two  seraphim  of 
Isaiah,  Ibkl. ;  reveals  God,  36  ;  the 
nature  of  His  working  as  distin- 
guished from  that  of  the  Father 
and  the  Son,  37-40,  41,  43;  taken 
from  the  unworthy,  39;  dwells  in 
the  renewed,  39,  40 ;  bestowed  on 
the  saints,  40;  one,  114;  every 
rational  creature  receives  a  share 
of,  114,  115;  the  advent  of,  after 
the  ascension  of  Christ,  115  ;  gifts 
of,  116;  the  Paraclete,  IIG,  117. 

Homer  quoted  respecting  the  spar- 
row, serpent,  and  eagle,  ii.  258. 

Hope,  the,  of  Christians  after  death, 
ii.  450,  451. 

Human  nature,  the  dignity  of,  ii.  183- 
18G. 

Humility,  ii.  352,  353. 

Idol  festivals,  why  not  take  part  in  ? 
ii.  511,  512. 

Idolatry,  even  heathen  philosophers 
condemn,  i.  401. 

Idols,  abstinence  from  meats  offered 
to,  ii.  514,  515,  516. 

Ignorance  receives  no  sanction  from 
Christianity,  ii.  125-131,  154. 

Image  of  God,  the,  man  made  in,  i, 
262-264,  ii.  405,  487. 

Image  of  God's  goodness,  the,  i.  32. 

Image  of  the  invisible  God,  Christ 
the,  i.  23,  24. 

Images,  not  gods,  ii.  121 ;  the  making 
of,  forbidden  to  the  Jews,  193  ; 
why  Christians  reject,  480-487  ;  the 
true,  of  God,  505,  506. 

Immortality,  the,  of  rational  natures, 
i.  353. 

Incantations,  not  used  by  Christians, 
i.  402,  403  ;  the  power  of  names  in, 
ii.  315,  316. 

Incarnation,  the,  of  Christ,  i.  105 ; 
the  wonderfulness  of,  106,  107  ;  the 
intermediacy  of  Christ's  soul  be- 
tween the  flesh  and  God  in,  108, 
109  ;  the  assumption  of  the  soul  in, 
a  reward  of  that  soul's  virtues,  109 ; 
difiiculty  as  to  Christ's  possessing  a 


574 


INDEX  OF  PRINCIPAL  SUBJECTS. 


human  soul,  removed,  110  ;  the  sub- 
ject illustrated,  111,  112;  implies 
no  change  in  GoJ,  the  object  of, 
ii.  174,  175,  176-179  ;  cavilled  at 
and  ridiculed  by  Celsus,  415,  416, 
421,  422. 

Incorporeal,  meaningof  theterm,  i.  5, 6. 

Inspiration,  the,  of  the  Scriptures,  i. 
274,  2S5. 

Instinct  and  reason,  ii.  250-253. 

Interpretation,  of  the  promises,  not 
literal,  but  sinritual,  i.  143-14S ;  of 
the  Scriptures,  the  true  method  of, 
291-323. 

Isis  and  Osiris,  ii.  309. 

Israel,  the  carnal  and  spiritual,  i.  327. 

Jacob,  and  Esau,  i.  133,  134 ;  wrestles 
with  an  angel,  234  ;  his  prophecy  of 
Christ,  455. 

James,  the  brother  of  our  Lord,  i. 
447. 

Jesus,  His  conversation  with  the 
woman  of  Samaria,  i.  11  ;  silence 
of,  before  His  judges,  393 ;  charge 
of  sorcery  against,  power  of  His 
name,  402,  403  ;  acted  by  a  divine 
power,  424,  425,  426  ;  Celsus  intro- 
duces a  Jew  disputing  with,  and  re- 
futing, 426,  427  ;  Celsus'  defamation 
of,  turned  into  an  argument  to  en- 
hance the  glory  and  divine  power 
of,  427,  430  ;  the  attachment  of  His 
disciples  to,  and  His  death  for  men, 
430,  431  ;  the  miraculous  birth  of, 
vindicated  against  Celsus,  431,  432; 
predicted  to  be  born  of  a  virgin, 
433  ;  no  rational  objection  to  the 
birth  of,  from  a  virgin,  437  ;  ab- 
surdity of  imputing  the  miracles  of, 
to  magic,  438,  439 ;  descent  of  a 
dove  on,  440,  441,  442,  443;  no 
grounds  for  believing  in  Moses  while 
He  is  rejected,  444,  445 ;  evidence 
of  the  divinity  of  the  doctrine  of, 
445,  446  ;  the  heavens  open  to,  448, 
449,  450 ;  j)rophecies  relating  to, 
451,  452,  etc.  ;  born  in  Bethlehem, 
453 ;  the  disciples  of,  Celsus'  ac- 
count of  them,  406-470 ;  flight  of, 
into  Egypt,  justified  against  Celsus, 
472,  473  ;  the  miracles  of,  defended, 
474 ;  the  miracles  of,  not  wrought 
by  magic,  474-476  ;  Celsus'  silly 
carping  aboiit  the  body  of,  exposed, 
476,  477  ;  His  promise  of  the  Spirit 
of  truth,  ii.  3  ;  observed  the  Jew- 
ish law,  7,  8 ;  not  arrogant,  but 
meek  and  lowly,  8  ;  inconsistency 
of  the  Jew3  in  rejecting,  9,    10  ; 


Celsus'  impeachment  of  the  God- 
head of,  answered,  10,  11  ;  never 
broke  His  promise,  13 ;  never  at- 
tempted disgracefully  to  hide  from 
His  enemies,  14 ;  the  betrayal  of, 
15  ;  the  argument  of  Celsus 
founded  on  the  betrayal  of,  an- 
swered, 17,  etc.  ;  predictions  re- 
specting,— Celsus'  mode  of  dealing 
with  the  predictions  respecting, 
refuted,  18,  21 ;  the  discii^les  of, 
lovers  of  truth,  21 ;  really  suffered, 
died,  and  was  raised  from  the 
dead, — an  objection  met,  22-24  ; 
if  He  foreknew  the  traitor  and  per- 
jurer, why  did  they  not  desist 
from  their  purpose  ?  24,  25  ;  His 
foreknowledge  did  not  compel  the 
events  foreknown,  25-28  ;  His 
suffering  real,  and  voluntarily  and 
Bubmissively  endured,  29-33  ;  pre- 
dictions concerning  the  life  of,  34, 
35  ;  the  union  of  kingdoms  at  the 
time  of  the  birth  of,  35,  36  ;  objec- 
tion of  Celsus  drawn  from  the  gene- 
alogies of,  37  ;  '  what  great  deeds 
did  He  perform,  being  a  God?' 
answered,  37,  38 ;  could  He  not 
have  delivered  Himself  from  His 
enemies  ? — punishment  of  the  ene- 
mies of,  38,  39,  40;  blood  and 
water  flow  from  the  side  of, — Celsus' 
mockery  of  this,  40  ;  vinegar  and 
gall  given  to,  41  ;  objection  of 
Celsus  that  He  gained  over  no  one 
in  His  life, — why  the  Jews  are 
blamed  for  not  believing  in,  42-45  ; 
Celsus'  assertion  that  He  did  not 
show  Himself  pure  from  evil,  43, 
44;  numbered  with  transgressors, 
45,  46  ;  conduct  of  the  disciples  on 
His  being  apprehended,  —  Celsus' 
argument  founded  on  this  refuted, 
47  ;  Celsus'  assertion  that  He  only 
gained  over  ten  sailors  and  tax- 
gatherers,  47,  48 ;  why  Christians 
were  won  over  to,  48,  49  ;  refuta- 
tion of  Celsus  concerning  the 
miracles  of,  49-57  ;  and  the  heroes 
of  heathenism  compared,  59,  60  ; 
the  resurrection  of,  60  ;  ought  He 
to  have  appeared  after  His  resurrec- 
tion to  His  persecutors  ?  65-70;  why 
did  He  not  escape  from  the  cross  ? 
71,  72  ;  to  whom  He  appeared  after 
His  resurrection,  74 ;  purposes  of 
His  mission,  75  ;  Celsus'  argument 
derived  from  the  incredulity  of  the 
Jews,  answered,  77-81;  censured  by 
Celsus  for  using  threats,  79,  etc.  ; 


INDEX  OF  PRINCIPAL  SUBJECTS. 


'ol'o 


unbelief  of  the  Jews  as  to,  predicted 
and  punished,  82,  83  ;  the  power  of, 
to  ditfuse  His  doctrine  and  convert 
men,  83, 84 ;  not  to  be  compared  with 
^sculapius,  Hei-cules,  etc.,  102, 
103  ;  nor  with  Aristeas  of  Procon- 
nesus  —  advantages  derived  from, 
106-111;  nor  with  Abaris  the 
Hyperborean,  112 ;  nor  with  the 
Clazomenean,  113  ;  nor  with  Cleo- 
medes  of  Astypalea,  114  ;  nor  with 
Zamolxis,  115,  116  ;  nor  with 
Adrian,  117,  118;  nor  with  Anti- 
nous,  119,  120;  tlae  human  natui-e 
of,  changed  into  God,  122,  123  ; 
and  Cretan  Jove,  124,  125 ;  Celsus' 
objection  that  He  was  sent  to 
sinners,  141,  142,  143  ;  suflfering  of 
the  Jews  for  their  crime  against, 
182,  526,  527  ;  cavils  of  Celsus  re- 
specting —  not  the  only  one  sent 
from  God  to  men,  321,  322  ;  angels 
•wait  on — reply  to  Celsus  on  this 
point,  327,  328 ;  the  soul  of,  joined 
to  the  Word,  389,  390;  personal 
appearance  of — Celsus'  reproaches 
respecting  this,  418-420 ;  appear- 
ances after  His  resurrection  not 
shadowy,  456  ;  conduct  of,  under 
His  sufferings,  476,  477  ;  death  of, 
478 ;  the  worship  of,  consistent  with 
the  worship  of  the  one  God,  6007 
501;  the  Son  of  God^  501,  502; 
not  a  demon,  523,  524 ;  fruitfulness 
of  the  death  of,  527. 
Jews,  the,  mutilated  the  Scriptures  of 
the  Old  Testament,  i.  377,  379; 
Celsus  casts  a  slight  upon,  411,  412; 
Numenius  and  others  speak  favour- 
ably of,  412,  413  ;  the  antiquity  of, 
413  ;  believe  in  one  God,  420,  421  : 
falsely  accused  by  Celsus  of  angel- 
worship  and  sorcery,  424  ;  the  in- 
consistency of,  in  rejecting  Jesus, — 
their  unbelief  foretold,  ii.  9,  10,  77, 
82,  83 ;  punishment  of  their  un- 
belief, 10 ;  what  they  are  to  be 
blamed  for  respecting  Jesus,  41  ;  the 
points  of  difference  between  Chris- 
tians and,  not  foolish,  85,  86,  88 ; 
how  they  adhere  to  their  religion, 
87,  88  ;  blunder  of  Celsus  as  to  the 
Egyptian  descent  of,  88,  89 ;  the 
punishment  of,  for  their  treatment 
of  Jesus,  182 ;  Celsus'  ridicule  of 
Christians  and,  183  ;  vindicated 
against  Celsus,  the  law  and  polity 
of,  192,  193 ;  the  genealogy  of, 
195,  197,  198 ;  do  not  worship  the 
heavens,  272,  273 ;  do  not  consider 


the  heavens  to  be  God,  274  ;  do  not 
bow  down  to  angels,  276,  277,  278  ; 
defended  against  the  false  charges 
of  Celsus,  312,  313  ;  have  nothing 
in  common  with  the  Persians  in  the 
worship  of  God,  314 ;  the  circum- 
cision practised  by,  different  from 
that  of  other  nations,  317,  318  ; 
reason  of  their  abstinence  from 
swine's  flesh,  319,  320  ;  were  highly 
favoured  Ijy  God,  320,  321,  530, 
531. 

Job,  additions  to  the  book  of,  in  the 
LXX. ,  i.  378 ;  and  in  the  Hebrew 
text,  ibkl. 

John  the  Baptist  referred  to  by 
Josephus,  i.  447. 

Jonah  and  Jesus,  ii.  478. 

Joseph,  Celsus'  cavils  respecting,  ii. 
213. 

Judaism,  converts  from,  do  not  desert 
the  law  of  their  fathers,  ii.  1 ,  5,  6. 

Judas,  the  conduct  of,  in  betraying, 
and  after  betraying,  Jesus,  ii.  15, 
16 ;  foretold,  27. 

Judea  and  Jerusalem,  figures  of  a 
heavenly  land,  ii.  451. 

Jupiter,  the  Cretan,  ii.  124,  125. 

Just  man,  the,  promised  riches,  ii. 
444 ;  how  he  slays  and  prevails, 
445. 

Justice  and  goodness,  their  harmony 
and  consistency,  i.  97-105. 

Kara^GaX),,  i.  256,  258. 

Kings,    the  favour  of,    according  to 

Celsus,  to  be  sought,  ii.  547,  548 ; 

swearing  by  the  fortune  of,    549 ; 

how  Christians  fight  for  and  help, 

556,  557. 
Knowledge,  the  increase  of,   in  the 

future  state,  i.  148-151. 
Koir^o;,  i.  86. 

Labour,  the  wisdom  of  the  necessity 
of,  laid  on  man,  ii.  242. 

Laius,  and  the  oracle  given  to,  ii.  26, 
27. 

Land,  the  good,  promised  by  God  to 
the  righteous,  ii.  450,  451,  452. 

Languages,  the  confusion  of,  at  Babel, 
ii.  297,  298,  299. 

Law,  is  it  the  king  of  all  things  ?  ii. 
310,  311. 

Law  of  Moses,  the,  the  irrationality 
and  impossibility  of  some  of  its  pre- 
cepts taken  litei-ally,  i.  317-320 ; 
twofold,  ii.  443,  444 ;  promises 
riches  to  the  just,  444. 

Laws,  ancestral,  is  it  impiety  to  aban- 


576 


INDEX  OF  PRINCIPAL  SUBJECTS. 


don  them  ?  ii.  293-29S  ;  yvhen  those 
of  states  and  natural,  are  opposed, 
which  to  be  followed  ?  307,  308. 

Light,  the,  not  to  be  worshipped,  ii. 
278,  279  ;  and  darkness,  409,  410. 

Light,  God  is,  i.  8,  31. 

Lot  and  his  daughters,  the  story  of, 
assailed  by  Celsus, — explanation  of, 
ii.  211,  212. 

Lucifer,  his  fall  from  heaven,  i.  51-53. 

Magi,  the  visit  of  the,  to  Jesus,  i. 
461,  464. 

Magic,  the  miracles  of  Jesus  not 
wrought  by,  i.  474-476  ;  over  whom 
it  has  power,  ii.  379,  380. 

Man,  the  account  of  the  creation  of, 
ridiculed  by  Celsus,  ii.  199,  200; 
all  things  made  for  the  sake  of,  239, 
240-244 ;  superiority  of,  over  irra- 
tional animals,  244-256. 

Marcion,  ii.  324,  417. 

Martyrs,  demons  afraid  of,  ii.  528. 

Masters,  no  man  can  serve  two,  ii.  493. 

Meats  and  drinks,  abstaining  from, 
ii.  514,  515,  516. 

Mediator,  the,  through  whom  we 
come  to  God,  ii.  271,  272. 

Men,  not  be  compared  to  bats  and 
worms,  as  Celsus  compares  them, — 
the  dignity  of  their  nature,  ii.  182- 
185  ;  God's  care  over  the  first,  246. 

Minerva,  ii.  550. 

Miracles  of  Jesus,  the,  their  great- 
ness, i.  474 ;  not  wrought  by  magic, 
474-476  ;  vindicated  against  Celsus, 
ii.  49-57. 

Miraculous  appearances,  on  Greek 
testimony,  witnessed  by  men,  ii. 
326,  327. 

Mithrus,  the  mysteries  of,  referred  to 
by  Celsus,  ii.  260,  262. 

Moses,  his  history  assailed  by  Celsus, 
i.  414,  415  ;  a  challenge  on  behalf  of 
the  laws  of,  415,  416;  Celsus  strives 
to  discredit  his  account  of  creation, 
416  ;  a  divine  spirit  in,  417  ;  excel- 
lency of  the  history  transmitted  bj'-, 
418 ;  no  reason  for  believing  in, 
while  rejecting  Christ,  444,  445 ; 
and  Jesus,  the  miracles  of,  ii.  54- 
57,  58,  59  ;  the  antiqiiity  of,  171  ; 
his  division  of  animals  into  clean 
and  unclean,  260,  261  ;  the  cos- 
mogony of,  taken  exception  to  by 
Celsus,  390-392,  402,  403. 

Name  of  Jescs,  the  power  of,  i.  403. 
Names,  the  origin,  power,  and  mys- 
tery of,  i.  421,  422,  423  ;  not  unim- 


portant,  ii.  315;  the  power  of,  in 

invocations,  310. 
New  heavens  and  new  earth,  the,  i.  56, 

58. 
Numenius,  his  treatise  on  Tlie  Good, 

i.  412. 

Old  Testament,  the,  and  the  New, 
their  teaching  harmonious,  ii.  444, 
etc.,  447. 

Only-begotten  Son  of  God,  Christ  the, 
i.  18;  the  self-abasement  of,  259. 

Ophites,  the,  referred  to,  ii.  362,  365, 
366,  367,  462. 

Opposing  powers,  or  powers  of  dark- 
ness, the,  i.  222,  etc.;  our  conflict 
with,  232,  etc. 

Oracles,  ii.  426,  456 ;  and  responses, 
529 ;  and  the  words  of  the  prophets, 
530. 

Orpheus,  proposed  by  Celsus  to  Chris- 
tians as  an  object  of  homage,  ii. 
275,  276. 

Osiris  and  Isis,  ii.  309. 

Pandora,  Hesiod's  description  of  the 

formation  of,  ii.  201,  202. 
Pappjeus,  ii.  315-317. 
Parables,  why  Jesus  spoke  in,  i.  195- 

202. 
Paraclete,  the,  i.  114,  116. 
Paradise,  the,  prepared  for  departed 

saints,  i.  151. 
Passions,  the,  which  affect  the  soul, 

i.  141. 
Pastor,  The,  of  Hennas,  quoted,  i.  34, 

35,  230,  301. 
Paul,  his  desire  to  depart,  i.  159,  160; 

his  wisdom,  ii.  100,  101. 
Persecution,  Jesus  and  His  disciples 

justified  in  avoiding,  i.  471. 
Persians,  and  Jews   hold  nothing  iu 

common  in  the  worship  of  God,  ii. 

214 ;  mysteries  of  the,  360 ;  have 

no  temples,  483  ;  worship  the  crea- 
ture, 485,  486. 
Peter,  his  superstitious  adherence  to 

Jewish  observances, — howdelivered 

from  it,  ii.  1-3. 
Pharaoh,  the  hardening  of  the  heart 

of,  i.  171-191. 
Philosophers,  the  folly  and  error  of, 

ii.  470. 
Phoenix,  the,  ii.  265. 
Planets,  the,  i.  87. 
Plato,  quoted  respecting  Eros,  ii.  203- 

205  ;  and  Scripture,  the  respective 

styles  of,   336-338 ;    the  inefficacy 

of  his  teaching  compared  with  that 

of  the  Scriptures,  339-341  ;  Jesus 


INDEX  OF  PRINCIPAL  SUBJECTS. 


577 


does  not  quote  and  pervert  the 
words  of,  as  Celsus  asserts,  354  ; 
excelled  by  the  Scriptures  in  his 
idea  of  God,  355,  3GG  ;  quoted  as  to 
Eh/sium,  450 ;  quoted  as  to  certain 
precious  stones,  452  ;  his  Timceus 
quoted,  4G4  ;  on  the  avenging  of 
injuries,  479. 

Potter,  the,  his  power  over  the  clay, 
i.  211   etc 

Power  of  God,  the,  i.  2G,  28. 

Prayer,  to  whom  it  is  to  be  made,  ii. 
272,  273  ;  Christians  use  no  bar- 
barous names  in,  522. 

Precious  stones,  certain,  spoken  of  by 
Plato,  ii.  452. 

Predictions,  respecting  India,  Egypt, 
and  Babylon,  etc.,  331,  332;  re- 
specting Jesus  Christ.  tSee  Pro- 
phecies. 

Pre-existence,  the,  of  rational  crea- 
tures, i.  256-258. 

Prejudice,  the  power  of,  i.  455. 

Principalities  and  powers  of  darkness, 
the,  i.  68-70. 

Prino-prisebi  and  Sclilno-scMsein  diffi- 
culty of  interpretation,  the,  i.  375, 
381,  383. 

Promises,  the,  of  future  good,  not  to 
be  interpreted  literally  and  carnally, 
i.  145-153. 

Prophecies,  the,  the  ca\'ils  of  Celsns 
respecting,  answered,  ii.  431-440, 
441,  etc.;  relating  to  Christ,  451, 
453,  etc. ;  456-458,  459. 

Prophets,  the,  the  various  ways  God 
spake  to,  i.  380 ;  quoted  from  each 
other,  386 ;  necessary  for  the  Jews, 
436,  437 ;  the  character  of,  ii.  430, 
431  ;  power  of  the  words  of,  530. 

Providence,  divine,  maintained  against 
Celsus,  ii.  240-244,  266  ;  incorrect 
views  of,  rectified,  488,  489. 

"Vvx^,  i.  123. 

Punishment,  future,  the  Christian 
doctrine  of,  i.  140,  etc.,  ii.  524,  532, 
534,  535. 

Pythagoreans,  the  abstinence  prac- 
tised bj^  ii.  320. 

Pythian  oracle,  the,  ii.  426,  429. 

Qualities    always    belong    to    sub- 
stances, i.  351. 
Queen  of  Sheba,  the,  ii.  126. 

Eational  natures,  various,  i.  44, 
45 ;  capable  of  sin,  45 ;  evil,  45, 
46  ;  whether  any  were  created  so 
as  to  be  incapable  of  sin  or  of  vir- 
tue, 46,  47  ;  the  glory  of  some  and 
ORIG. VOL.  II. 


the  wickedness  of  others  not  ori.i- 
nal  and  essential  to  their  being,  but 
the  result  of  desert,  48,  G9 ;  never 
sink  into  the  condition  of  irrational 
animals,  70;  can  they  lead  an  ex- 
istence out  of  the  bodj',  82 ;  the 
immortality  of,  353,  etc. 

Ptepentance,  attributed  to  God,  ii.  399, 
400. 

Pesting,  predicated  of  God,  ii.  403. 

liestoration,  the,  of  fallen  beings,  i. 
56,  57. 

Resurrection,  the,  of  the  body,  i.  136; 
weak  believers  instructed  on  the 
subject,  139 ;  ridiculed  by  Celsus, 
explained  and  defended,  ii.  282,  285, 
28G-2SS,  454,  455. 

Resurrection,  the,  of  Jesus,  ii.  59-62 ; 
the  belief  of,  not  the  product  of  a 
dream,  63  ;  why  did  not  Jesus  show 
Himself  to  His  enemies  after,  65-70; 
His  appearances  after,  not  phantom- 
like, 457. 

Riches,  promised  to  the  just  man,  in 
what  sense,  ii.  444;  Jesus  gave  no 
laws  contrary  to  this  promise  of,  440. 

Samaritan  woman,  Jesus  converses 
with  a,  i.  11. 

Satan,  ii.  385 ;  and  Antichrist,  385, 
386.     See  Devil. 

Scriptures,  the,  the  teaching  of  the 
Church  respecting,  i.  5 ;  the  inspira- 
tion of,  274,  etc.,  285,  etc.  ;  the 
superhuman  element  in,  does  not 
present  itself  to  the  uninstructed, 
287-290  ;  how  to  be  regarded  and 
understood,  291,  294,  299  ;  a  three- 
fold sense  in,  300  ;  the  soul  of,  SOS- 
SOS  ;  the  mysteries  contained  in, 
308,  etc. ;  stumbling-blocks  in,  212  ; 
the  histories  of,  not  all  pure  history, 
but  some  to  be  mystically  under- 
stood, 313-322  ;  in  regard  to  many 
things,  the  historical  and  literal 
sense  of,  the  true  sense,  323 ;  pas- 
sages of,  which  are  true  in  their 
historical  sense,  more  numerous  than 
those  which  are  to  be  spiritually 
understood,  324 ;  the  need  of  care- 
ful search  to  dislinguish  between 
what  is  literal  in,  and  what  is 
not,  325  ;  our  duty  to  grasp  the 
whole  meaning  of,  326  ;  etymologi- 
cal fancies  in,  383 ;  exhortation  to 
the  study  of,  390  ;  many  of  the  histo- 
ries of,  allegories,  ii.  2(J9,  210 ;  sim- 
plicity of  the  style  of,  compared 
with  that  of  Plato,  326-338;  the 
inefficacy  of  the  teaching  of  Plato 

2  O 


578 


INDEX  OF  PRINCIPAL  SUBJECTS. 


compared  with  that  of,  339-341 ;  ex- 
ceed Plato  in  the  idea  they  give  of 
God,  355,  356. 

Scythian  and  Greek  names  of  God,  ii. 
377,  378. 

Secret  associations.  Christians  charged 
by  Celsus  with  entering  into,  — reply, 
i.  390. 

Sects  among  Christians,  ii.  331-333, 335. 

Seeing  God,  i.  16,  17,  ii.  465,  466. 

Sense  and  the  senses,  i.  15. 

Septuagint,  additions  to  the  Scripture 
in  the — defence  of  these  additions, 
i.  371-373. 

Seraphim,  the,  i.  35,  340,  341. 

Serapis,  ii.  309. 

Seriphian  and  Themistocles,  i.  428. 

Serpent,  the,  Celsus  ridicules  the  story 
of  the  temptation  by,  ii.  203  j  is  the 
devil,  4S3. 

Shepherd  of  Hermas,  The,  i.  34,  35, 
230,  301. 

Sicarians,  the,  ii.  19. 

Silence,  the,  of  Jesus  before  His 
judges,  i.  393. 

Simonians,  the,  ii.  332,  348. 

Sin,  incentives  to,  ii.  226. 

Sinners,  Christianity  invites  and  re- 
stores to  virtue,  ii.  139  - 144  ;  a 
change  of  life  possible  for,  asserted 
against  Celsus,  145-149. 

Sneezing,  according  to  the  poets,  pro- 
phetic, ii.  261. 

Socrates  pronounced  the  wisest  of 
men,  ii.  429. 

Son,  the  only-begotten,  of  God,  Christ 
the,  i.  18 ;  self-abasement  of,  257  ; 
subjection  of,  to  the  Father,  260- 
262  ;  the  generation  of,  342,  343  ; 
the  advent  and  incarnation  of,  345- 

;  347  ;   the  .digflity  of,   ii.   308,  388, 

(389,  ^02  ;  the  soul  of  Jesus  joined 
with,  389,  390 ;  Celsus  misrepre- 
sents the  views  of  Christians  re- 
specting, 503. 

"Sons  of  God"  and  "daughters  of 
men,"  ii.  325. 

Sorcery,  Jesus  charged  with,  by  Cel- 
sus, i.  402,  403  ;  the  Jews  charged 
with,  424 ;  the  miracles  of  Jesus 
not  wrought  by,  ii.  49-56  ;  the 
I)ower  of,  attributed  by  Celsus  to 
certain  animals,  252,  etc. 

Soul,  the,  apostolic  teaching  respect- 
ing, L  4 ;  a  lost,  121,  122  ;  meaning 
of  the  word,  123,  124;  and  spirit 
of  Christ,  125  ;  why  acted  on  some- 
times by  evil  spirits  and  sometimes 
by  good,  242,  etc.;  and  body  alikv 
the  work  of  God,  ii.  220-226. 


Souls,  various  sorts  of,  118,  119;  of 
angels  and  of  God,  119,  120;  has 
man  two? — three  theories  discussed, 
244-252  ;  good  and  bad,  ii  428. 

Spirit,— what?  i.  9. 

Spirit  of  truth,  the,  promised  by 
Jesus,  ii.  3,  4;  perpetually  be- 
stowed, 412,  413. 

Spirits,  wicked,  their  mode  of  opera- 
tion, i.  241;  good,  their  agency,  242. 

Spiritual  body,  the,  i.  266,  267. 

S^jlendour  of  the  eternal  light,  Christ 
the,  i.  30. 

Spoiling  the  Egyptians,  i.  388,  389. 

Star,  the,  of  the  wise  men,  i.  462,  464. 

Stars,  living  rational  beings  capable 
of  sin,  i.  61,  62. 

Stony  heart,  the,  how  taken  away,  i. 
191,  etc. 

Stumbling-blocks  designedly  placed 
in  the  Scriptures,  i.  312. 

Subjection,  the,  of  the  Son  to  the 
Father,  i.  260,  etc. 

Substance,  i.  350. 

Suffering  of  Christ,  the,  predicted,  L 
456,  457. 

Sun,  the,  and  other  planets  endowed 
with  life  and  souls,  i.  59-65. 

Superiority  and  inferiority,  not  to  be 
decided  by  a  bodily  standard,  ii. 
184. 

Susanna,  the  story  of,  inquiry  of  Afri- 
canus  respecting  the  genuineness  of, 
i.  369,  370 ;  Ori^en's  defence  of  th« 
genuineness  of,  371,  etc. 

Swine's  flesh,  abstinence  from,  ii.  319, 
320. 

Temple,  the  true,  of  God,  ii.  506, 
507. 

Temptations,  proportioned  to  the 
strength  of  the  tempted,  ii.  227- 
229  ;  human,  treated  of  at  large, 
244,  etc. 

"Things  in  heaven,  earth,  and  under 
the  earth,"  ii.  57. 

Thomas,  the  scepticism  of,  ii.  64,  65. 

Thoughts,  how  suggested,  i.  229,  230. 

Threefold  sense  of  Scripture,  the,  i. 
300,  etc. 

Thrones,  dominions,  etc.,  i.  56. 

Tobias,  i.  384. 

Trinity,  the,  the  unity  and  operations 
of  the  persons  of,  i.  37-41;  the  sum 
of  the  doctrine  of,  342,  etc. 

Truth  is  truth,  by  whomsoever  spoken, 
ii.  480  ;  how  served  up  as  food  by 
philosophers  and  prophets  and  the 
disciples  of  Christ,  480,  481. 

Typical  interpretation,  i.  306. 


INDEX  OF  PEINCIPAL  SUBJECTS. 


579 


Tyre,  the  prince  of,  i.  49-51. 

Union  among  Christians,  the  basis  of, 

ii.  96,  etc. 
Unity  of  opinion,  not  characteristic  of 

Christians  from  the  beginning,   ii. 

94. 

Vanity,  the  creature  made  subject 

to,  i.  63-65,  257,  258. 
Variety,  the,  of  creatures  in  the  worhl, 

i.    128 ;    accordance    of    this    with 

righteousness  and  reason,  131,  etc. ; 

brought  to  pass  by  the  tree-will  of 

individuals,  132-136. 
Veil  on  the  heart,  the,  i.  9. 
Vessels  to  honour  and  to  dishonour,  i. 

213. 
Vinegar  and  gall,  the,  predicted,  ii. 

41. 
Virgin  Mother,  the,  vilified  by  Celsus, 

vindication  of,  i.  420,  427,  431,  433  ; 

prediction  of  the  birth  of  Christ  of, 

434,    435;   the  birth   of  Jesus  of, 

open  to  no  fair  objection,  437,  438. 

Will,  the  free,  i.  4,  132,  133,  157, 
etc. ;  able  to  resist  external  causes, 
161;  its  freedom  proved  from  Scrip- 
ture, 165. 

Wisdom,  threefold,  i.  237 ;  of  the 
world,  238 ;  of  the  princes  of  the 
world,  239  ;  the  sort  condemned  by 
Christianity,  410 ;  of  Christianity, 
100,  101;  Christianity  designed  to 
impart,  126,  etc.;  human  and  divine, 
350,  351,  352. 

Wisdom  of  God,  Christ  the,  i.  19,  20, 
26,  28. 

"Wood,  hay,  stubble,"  ii.  173. 
I  Word,  the  incarnation  of  the,  ii.  174, 
175;   difierent  appearances  of  the, 


176  ;  final  universal  victory  of  the, 
555. 

Words,  not  to  be  specially  considered 
by  searchers  after  truth,  but  the 
meaning  of,  i.  339,  341. 

Words  of  Christ,  the,  i.  1. 

World,  the,  the  doctrine  of  the  Church 
respecting,  i.  5  ;  the  great  variety 
in,  72  ;  cause  of  the  variety  in,  72, 
73 ;  the  unity  of,  in  diversity,  73, 
74 ;  the  oneness  of,  proved  from 
Scripture,  75  ;  the  matter  of,  and 
its  transformations  and  qualities, 
75  ;  the  matter  of,  not  uncreated, 
70,  77;  the  beginning  of, — was  there 
one  before,  and  shall  there  be  one 
after  ?  79  ;  this,  the  conclusion  of 
many  ages,  85  ;  ditterent  meanings 
of  the  word  in  Scripture,  86  ;  an- 
other besides  this,  86,  87,  etc. ; 
comprehensiveness  of,  and  variety 
of  creatures  in,  128-130 ;  the  ac- 
cordance of  this  variety  in,  with 
righteousness  and  reason,  131,  etc.; 
the  cause  of  the  variety  in,  134-136  ; 
had  its  beginning  in  time,  253  ;  shall 
come  to  an  end,  255,  etc. ;  another 
shall  exist  after  this,  255  ;  the  end 
of,  262,  etc. 

Worlds,  the,  not  similar,  but  dis- 
similar, i.  84. 

Worship,  to  be  given  to  God  alone,  and 
not  to  gods  or  demons,  ii.  489-500  ; 
of  the  Father  and  the  Son,  500,  501 ; 
equally  acceptable  to  God  in  differ- 
ent languages,  522. 

Wrath  of  God,  the,  ii.  237-239. 

Zeno,  the  reasons  why  the  followers 
of,  abstain  from  adultery,  ii.  484. 

Zipporah,  and  the  circumcision  of 
Moses'  son,  ii.  318,  319. 


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THE   LIFE   OF   THE   LORD 
JESUS   CHRIST: 

A  COMPLETE  CRITICAL  EXAMINATION  OF  THE  ORIGIN, 
CONTENTS,  AND  CONNECTION  OF  THE  GOSPELS. 

CraiisIatciJ  from  tl)c  <i9cfmau  of 
J.      P.     L  A  N  G  E,     D.  D., 

PROFESSOR    OF    DIVINITY    IN    THE    UNIVERSITY    OF    BONN. 

EDITED,   WITH  ADDITIONAL  NOTES, 
BY    THE     REV.    MARCUS    DODS,    M.A. 


*^*  This  valuable  Work  lias  been  out  of  print  for  some  time,  but  Tias  been  much 
in  demand.  The  Six  Volumes  now  occupy  Four ;  and  whilst  the  whole  matter  is 
retained,  it  is  published  at  a  little  cheaper  price. 


Extract  from  Editor's  Preface. 

'  The  -work  of  Dr.  Lange,  translated  in  the  accompanying  volumes,  holds  among  books 
the  honourable  position  of  being  the  most  complete  Life  of  our  Lord.  There  are  other 
works  which  more  thoroughly  investigate  the  authenticity  of  the  Gospel  records,  some 
which  more  satisfactorily  discuss  the  chronological  difficulties  involved  in  this  most  im- 
portant of  histories,  and  some  which  present  a  more  formal  and  elaborate  exegetical 
treatment  of  the  sources ;  but  there  is  no  single  work  in  which  all  these  branches  are  so 
fully  attended  to,  or  in  which  so  much  matter  bearing  on  the  main  subject  is  brought 
together,  or  in  which  so  many  points  are  elucidated.  The  immediate  object  of  this  com- 
prehensive and  masterly  work  was  to  refute  those  views  of  the  life  of  our  Lord  which 
had  been  propagated  by  Negative  Criticism,  and  to  substitute  that  authentic  and  con- 
sistent history  whioh  a  truly  scientific  and  enlightened  criticism  educes  from  the  Gospels.' 


T.  and  T.  Claries  Publications. 


This  day  is  published,  price  14s., 

BIBLICO-THEOLOGICAL   LEXICON  OF 
NEW  TESTAMENT  GREEK. 

BY 

HERMANN     CREMER, 

PROFESSOR  OF  THEOLOGY  IN  TUE  UNIVEIISITY  OF  GREIFSWALD. 

S^ranslattir  from  i\t  <ijerman  bg 
D.   W.    SIMON,,  Ph.D., 

AND 

WILLIAM    URWICK,    M.  A. 

This  work  comprises  such  words  as  have  their  ordinary  classical  meauicg  changed  or 
modified  in  Scripture,  tracing  their  history  in  their  transference,  from  the  Classics  into 
the  Septuagint  and  thence  into  the  New  Testament,  and  the  gradual  deepening  and 
elevation  of  their  meaning  till  they  reach  the  fulness  of  New  Testament  thought. 

Just  published,  in  one  vol.  8vo,  price  15s., 

A  TREATISE  ON  THE  GRAMMAR  OF  NEW  TESTAMENT  GREEK, 

REGARDED  AS  THE  BASIS  OF  NEW  TESTAMENT  EXEGESIS. 

By  Dr.  G.  B.  Wixer. 

Translated  from  the  German,  with  large  additions  and  full  Indices,  by  Rev.  W. 
F.  MouLTON,  M.A.,  Classical  Tutor,  Wesleyan  Theological  College,  Rich- 
mond, and  Prizeman  in  Hebrew  and  New  Testament  Greek  in  the  University 
of  London. 

The  additions  by  the  Editor  are  very  large,  and  will  tend  to  make  this 
great  work  far  more  useful  and  available  for  EncjUsli  students  than  it  has 
hitherto  been.  The  Indices  have  been  greatly  enlarged,  but  with  dis- 
crimination, so  as  to  be  easily  used.  Students  will  admit,  this  is  of  vast 
importance.  Altogether,  tlie  Publishers  do  not  doubt  that  this  will  be 
the  Standard  Grammar  of  New  Testament  Greek. 

'  This  is  the  standard  classical  work  on  the  Grammar  of  the  New  Testament,  and  it 
is  of  course  indispensable  to  every  one  who  would  prosecute  intelligently  the  critical 
study  of  the  most  important  pjrtion  of  the  inspired  rocord.  It  is  a  great  service  to 
render  such  a  work  accessible  to  the  English  reader.' — British  and  Foreign  Evangelical 
Review. 

'  "We  gladly  welcome  the  appearance  of  Winer's  great  work  in  an  English  translation, 
and  most  strongly  recommend  it  to  all  who  wish  to  attain  to  a  sound  and  accurate  know- 
ledge of  the  language  of  the  New  Testament.  We  need  not  say  it  is  the  Grammar  of  the 
New  Testament.  It  is  not  only  superior  to  all  others,  but  so  superior  as  to  be  by  common 
consent  the  one  work  of  reference  on  the  subject.  No  other  could  be  mentioned  with  it.' 
— Literary  Churchman. 

EDINBURGH:  T.  &  T.  CLARK.    LONDON:  HAMILTON,  ADAMS,  &  GO. 


THE  INSTITUTE  OF  MEDIAPVAl  STUUiiS 

10  ELMSLEY  PLACE 

TORONTO  6,  CANADA, 


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